Iranians in Dubai protest election result

Dubai: Iranians in Dubai joined their countrymen in protest over the re-election of Iran's president Ahmadinejad on Sunday morning as early as 7am in front of their consulate located on Al Wasl Road.

Watch video of protest in Dubai

The majority of them were young Iranians who had exercised their voting rights for the first time, hoping to see a more liberal and democratic government taking charge in Tehran.

Shouting slogans in Farsi in favour of the Mir Hussain Mousavi, Iran's main opposition leader, they held placards and banners that displayed their sentiments in bold letters. One banner read "Where are our votes?", while another said "The election is a charade".

By 9am more protesters joined in and as the slogans grew louder the crowd cheered while Dubai Police officials who were already present walked up to them and asked them to remain calm and not to disrupt traffic.

Many were seen directing their anger towards a couple of photographers who were taking their photographs. According to the protesters the photographers worked for the Iranian government.

Many of those who spoke to Gulf News preferred to use only their first names. "Those photographers want to intimidate us but they should understand that the countdown for a political change in Iran has already begun in Iran. Ahmadinejad is a cheat and ... it has been clear that the election was nothing but a charade," said Nilu, who travelled from the US just to cast her vote. "I am Iranian-American and this is first time that I had voted and I did it with a hope that Iran could have [a] liberal government. I am just appalled with the election results."

Masoud, a Dubai-based professional, said that the community decided to hold protests to make their voices heard to the representatives of the Iranian government.

"Iran is a country [that] has a [society] which is more liberal. We don't want the radical Islamic government at the centre. They have done enough damage to the country. Iran wants democracy and the freedom of speech. The country has gone through a lot of strain in the last four years," he said.

The protesters said that they plan to continue with another major protest today.

"My 90-year-old grandmother exercised her voting rights for the first time and she [was] so disappointed when the results were announced. It is time that Iran is changed for the better. The world today looks at Iran and Iranians with [suspicion] just because we have Ahmadinejad as our president," said Mahshit.

Sawan who holds similar views said: "Many Iranians who left the country, are now quite hesitant to return back to their roots. Their main fear is that they would be subjected to a lot of hardship."