Hundreds of fresh protest videos from Iran are appearing on YouTube today, as pro-reform protesters take to the streets in Tehran on the 31st anniversary of the Iranian Revolution. This marks yet another outbreak of protests since the disputed election last June.
Within hours of the protesters hitting the streets of Iran today, videos began streaming onto YouTube that document the large crowds chanting anti-government slogans and violent clashes with anti-riot police forces. Once again, these extraordinary videos provide an exclusive window into what's taking place on the ground, as foreign press have been banned from the country. YouTube remains blocked in Iran, but dissidents are passing videos to friends out of the country and using Internet circumvention technologies to post the footage, according to news reports and correspondence with those on the ground.
We're tracking the videos on Citizentube, and here's a selection that have come in so far today. A playlist can be found here.
A young man is dragged and beaten by members of the Basij police forces:
Protesters face-off against the the police:
Citizens flee from tear gas:
Security forces stand in the streets, armed and ready:
Protests in the Metro in Tehran:
Large groups gather in the streets to demonstrate:
UPDATE: This photo taken by GeoEye at 10:47 AM local time shows downtown Tehran filled with people. You can explore the area using this KML layer in Google Earth.
