On June 15, 2009, hundreds of thousands of Iranians — estimates run as high as 3 million — marched in Tehran to protest the declaration of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the victor in the Presidential election.
The mass rally was peaceful, eventually reaching Azadi [Freedom] Square. However, trouble began when a group of people attacked a base of the paramilitary Basij on a corner of the square.
Basij militia fired on the demonstrators. At least nine people were killed, and many more were injured.
Journalist Maziar Bahari filmed 40 minutes of footage of the clash, sending it to Britain’s Channel 4 News and reporting on the event for Newsweek. Angered by the international exposure, Iranian authorities subsequently detained Bahari for more than three months.
IranWire, the site in which Bahari is now involved, has featured the footage for the first time:
