Echoing some of the slogans of protesters in Iran, about 80 Iranians from Melbourne and Sydney chanted "Rockets, guns and Basiji [state-run militia] do not scare us anymore" and "Khomeini you are Pinochet, Iran is not Chile" outside the Iranian embassy in Canberra on July 9.
The protest was held on the 10th anniversary of the 18 Tir massacre, when students in Iran organised protests for reforms.
Protest organiser Sammy Loni told Green Left Weekly that 10 years ago, students in Iran were encouraged by the Khatami government to create organisations.
Then, when the students organised a march and rally, the government knew exactly who to crack down on, who to beat up and who to massacre. The government got rid of all the leaders of the student organisations.
Loni said one of the protesters outside the Iranian embassy had been a student organiser in Iran 10 years ago. He was whipped 130 times in front of the whole nation for ripping up a picture of the supreme leader.
Then he was imprisoned and sentenced to execution. He was in prison for seven years before escaping. Many of his friends were killed. At the protest in Canberra, he had pictures of all his friends who had been executed.
Before the Tir massacre, students had trusted the Khatami government said Loni. Now, Khatami and the grouping around him is pretending to lead the current movement in Iran. But when that group was in government, it massacred people.
As well as this former student leader, three of the protesters had been in prison in Iran 20 years ago for political activity.
Loni explained why he initiated the protest outside the embassy. "We might not be in there in Iran, but we are their voice", he said. "If they know that in other countries people are gathering, people like them and all Iranians are gathering to fight this oppression, then they'll be much more confident in their movement and they will continue.
"We set up a committee called the Voice of Freedom and Democracy for Iran to organise protests."
Some of the demands on the Iranian government put forward by the protesters included: unconditionally release all Iranian political prisoners and protesters from past and present events; allow freedom of speech and freedom for the media; stop the violence and crackdown on peaceful freedom-seeking protesters; and bring to justice those who have used violence against protesters.
The demands on the Australian government included: don't recognise Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the president of Iran; support the groups that are protesting against human rights abuses in Iran; and support the community in Australia that is organising solidarity with the protesters in Iran.