Approximately 300 gather downtown in march of solidarity with Iranians

Hundreds marched to the B.C. legislature on Saturday, calling attention to the global silence on mass killings and internet blackouts in Iran

On Feb. 1, 2026, approximately 300 people gathered for a march for Iran in downtown Victoria. Iranians are currently facing widespread human rights violations, systematic oppression, and killings carried out by Iranian government forces. Nationwide protests broke out in late 2025 against the country’s theocratic government, resulting in Iran cracking down on protests and imposing an internet blackout. 

The Iranian government is currently committing what Amnesty International described as “mass unlawful killings on an unprecedented scale.” 

One sign carried by attendees reads “When they shut down the internet to silence voices, these shoes still remain,” featuring a photo that has emerged from Iran, showing piles of shoes left behind by those killed during the protests.

On Jan. 18, Iranian officials verified that at least 5 000 protestors had been killed. However, other reports suggest the death toll is much higher. The Guardian reported the toll could be as high as 30 000, and on Jan. 25, Iran International reported over 36 500 people had been killed. At the time of publication, The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports there are over 50 500 arrests, 307 instances of forced confessions, and a total of 673 protest-related incidents documented across 210 cities in 31 provinces.

The march, which started at Centennial Square and ended at the B.C. legislature, saw attendees carrying both the Lion and Sun flag — an alternative Iranian flag, historically used by the country between 1907 and 1979, which is now used to show opposition to the Islamic Republic of Iran — and Canadian flags, as well as signs showing support for those protesting against the Iranian government.

Throughout the march, attendees participated in chants, though much of it was done in silence, with many attendees marching with tape over their mouths.

Many westerners have been criticized by members of the Iranian community for their silence regarding the human rights abuses in Iran. The Atlantic reported many Iranians are dismayed by the lack of sympathy from the “American left.” Similarly, some have criticized westerners for only covering anti-Western, anti-Israeli, and anti-capitalist movements, while leaving Iran out of the conversation. 

One attendee at the march, Arian Aminalroaya, told the Martlet he hoped the march would help get the media to hear Iranian voices. “[It’s] one of the things that the media doesn’t support that much,” he said. “We just want to spread the word that the people in Iran [are] not alone.”

Aminalroaya said the support he saw during the march was some of the most support he’d seen, second only to the support that emerged after the death of Jina Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iranian police in 2022. Amini was a 22 year old Kurdish-Iranian woman who was arrested for allegedly violating the country’s mandatory hijab rules. Though authorities rejected the claim that her death was caused by beatings from Iran’s “morality police,” a UN fact-finding mission concluded it was physical violence that led to her death.

After the death of Amini on Sept. 16, 2022, nationwide protests broke out under the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom.” Iran International said the movement inspired by Amini remains alive and has reshaped society, with persistent and subtle acts of defiance continuing throughout the years since, though Amnesty International reports that the “war on women and girls” has also intensified through “increasingly violent crackdowns on those defying draconian compulsory veiling laws.”

“We want people to know that the Islamic regime is not the same thing as Iran, and it’s been oppressing its own people for 47 years,” Kiana Zandi, an attendee at the march, said in an interview with the Martlet. “A lot of people are saying ‘let Iranians handle it. Let Iranians do their thing. [They] don’t want foreign intervention’ … But the thing is, there’s nothing that people inside Iran can do, because once they leave their house its like signing off on … their own suicide.”

Kiana elaborated in a statement to the Martlet that Iranians are trying to decide for themselves, but that the “courageous Iranians” are trapped, and risk being shot, arrested, or killed when they step outside, even if they are not protesting. 

Kiana also expressed frustration at those who support the Islamic Republic simply because it supports Palestine, she said, while remaining ignorant to the Republic’s own human rights violations. 

“It’s sad that a regime that kills its own people is being supported,” she said. “The Islamic Republic does not represent Iranians at all. It’s quite the opposite, and it’s killing the people of Iran.” 

Kiana told the Martlet that many of the protestors are young people fighting for basic and universal rights, affordability, the freedom to choose how to live, and to not have religion forced upon them. 

On June 19, 2024, the Government of Canada listed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as Sepah, as a terrorist entity, as did the EU last month.

Arsham Zandi told the Martlet that, when they talk to their family in Iran, they tell them to be vague. “We know that the government is monitoring [them],” he said. “One of my family members got arrested. He was a doctor and he was just helping the injured from the protest.” 

Arsham shared details of their family’s story, including his family member, Dr. Hossein (Babak) Zarabian, who was arrested by a group of masked individuals, who also destroyed his personal possessions. “[That was] two weeks [ago] and no one knows where he is,” Arsham said.  

In a statement to the Martlet, Arsham said his family and colleagues are deeply concerned about his physical and mental well-being, and the unknown circumstances surrounding his detention have caused them immense distress. 

“Dr. Zarabian’s only act was fulfilling his duty as a doctor to heal without discrimination. His disappearance raises serious concerns about the targeting of medical professionals and the criminalization of humanitarian care.“

“Silencing a physician does not erase injustice. It exposes it,” Arsham said in a statement. 

HRANA reported that Zarabian’s relatives have visited security and judicial authorities ready to post bail, but have not received any clear answers about the place of his detention. 

IranWire reported that, alongside Zarabian, other specialist doctors across Iran have been detained and transferred to unknown locations, with the specific charges against them still unknown. Other detainees reportedly include a dentist named Dr. Fariba Hosseini, a pediatric specialist named Dr. Mowhebat Ghafouri, and a general practitioner named Dr. Asghar Shakeri. The Guardian reported on the Islamic Republic’s targeting of doctors, calling it a “campaign of revenge” for treating protestors.

According to IranWire, Zarabian provided medical assistance to injured protesters following the recent protests and throughout the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement.

Since Iranian authorities cracked down on the protests, there have been numerous reports of missing family members. According to Amnesty International, both hospitals and morgues in Iran are “overflowing.” 

“Sepehr my dear, where are you my son?,” one sign at the march read, referencing a video of a father searching for his son’s body among some of the many killed during Iran’s protests. 

In a joint statement released on Jan. 9, 2026, the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Canada, and the European Union said “Iran must immediately end the use of excessive and lethal force by its security forces including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Basij against protestors.”

“The Iranian regime has the responsibility to protect its own population and must allow for the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear of reprisal,” the statement continues. 

The response from the west, government, media, and activists alike, has been criticized by many Iranians. During the march, some attendees were carrying “R2P” signs, which refers to the “responsibility to protect” and calls for foreign military intervention in Iran. 

Throughout the march, many attendees also carried signs in support of Reza Pahlavi. Pahlavi is the crown prince of Iran, but has been living in exile for nearly five decades, after the Islamic revolution in 1979. Pahlavi’s father served as the shah. CBC reported that the shah was an autocratic and authoritarian leader, and came to power in 1953 through a CIA-backed coup to overthrow the democratically elected prime minister, Mohammad Mossadegh. The shah was unpopular amongst leftists, and was criticized for leading a repressive state with a feared security service, before being overthrown in the 1979 revolution. 

Al Jazeera reported that Pahlavi has been advocating for nonviolence for over 40 years, but has recently encouraged Iranians in the anti-government protests. Pahlavi is calling for a democratic transition and a secular state.

Like the march in Victoria, the rally in downtown Vancouver had many attendees voice their support for Pahlavi, as did the rally in Toronto. Protestors in Iran have also been reportedly chanting in support of Pahlavi, though the exact amount of support he has in Iran is unknown. He is portrayed negatively by Iranian state media, but has garnered support in Iranian diaspora communities. CBC reported that Pahlavi has praised U.S. President Donald Trump for his threats to take military action in Iran. 

Pahlavi has positioned himself as ready to lead Iran.

“Know that freedom and justice are on the way. We will soon be rid of this criminal regime, and together we will celebrate our future and our freedom. I hope to be among you as soon as possible, to embrace you, and together, hand in hand, to rebuild our country,” Pahlavi said in a statement on his website.

“This is not the first time [they’ve killed] thousands of people … but this time, we’re done with it,” Kiana said. “We just want [the Islamic Republic] gone. It doesn’t matter how much it takes, we’re gonna do all we can do to get them gone.”