During the protests in Egypt and Tunisia, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government praised the uprisings, saying that the “era of puppet regimes” had come to an end. In a similar vein this week, opposition groups are saying the government has “co-opted” the February 14th death of university student Saneh Jaleh during marches in Tehran. On Wednesday, funeral services were held by both opposition and pro-government groups. The government has said that Jaleh was an informant, and killed by opposition forces. A pro-government rally is planned for Friday. Gary Sick, Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University School of International Affairs, and Kelly Niknejad, editor-in-chief of the independent news organization “Tehran Bureau,” a partnership with PBS’ Frontline talk about the movement. Niknejad says that many Iranian activists have gone into hiding as the government cracks down. Zachary Lockman, Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies and History at New York University helps contextualize the movement.
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