Category: The Future!

The Green Brief #47 (August 2-3)

I’m NiteOwl AKA Josh Shahryar – twitter.com/iran_translator on twitter. I’m a journalist and a human rights activist and NOT Iranian. This is a compilation of news from Iran that I’ve gathered through twitter and Iranian sites that were advertised on twitter. Remember, this is all from tweets. (My work is released under Creative Commons (CC).)

These are the important happenings that I can positively confirm from Saturday, August 2 – Mordad 11. (Some reports are from August 3 as well)

Yesterday’s Report on the Trial of Reformists is at the end of this brief as well.

In German: http://tinyurl.com/nnlbla

Protests / Unrest

1. On August 2, there was a gathering of detainees’ families in front of Khamenei’s house. The number of people gathered was estimated at a few hundred.

2. The Sea of Green will be holding protests August 3 and plan on increasing power consumption at 9 PM. Chants of Allah o Akbar are continuing. (By the time this is out, protests will have already taken place.) On August 5 – the day of Ahmadinejad’s inauguration – there will more gatherings and protests. Locations cannot be disclosed at this time, as previous policy.

3. August 3, approximately a thousand people gathered in front of Judiciary Chief Shahroodi’s office. The protesters went to show their opposition to the trial of reformists.

4. August 1, several dozen members of the Mourning Mothers group held a gathering at Laleh Park.

5. Iran’s national cell phone company sent an SMS to all of it’s customers that services will be disrupted for the next 72 hours.

6. Checkpoints are being set up in Tehran by Basijis and police, yet again.

7. Partially confirmed reports indicate that at least 10 more protesters were being put on trial today. Need full confirmation.

8. Reports suggest that when news of the trial of reformists, reached Evin Prison, dozens of prisoners started to chant Allah o Akbar to show defiance against the regime.

9. Protests are being held in Paris August 3 and 4 against the Iran regime. For further details: Where is my vote? – Paris

*85 year old protester demands her vote be given back and says she wants to take it back from Khamenei: YouTube – ‫شیرزن ایرانی در روز 25 خرداد‬‎

(If you, your friends or your organization are holding events, protests or doing something else related to the Iranian elections internationally, please send me an email with details and I will give you coverage. (Will only cost you 10 million dollars!) My email is: dbosca@gmail.com – I am also curious if anyone is doing something for the day of Ahmadinejad’s inauguration OUTSIDE Iran.)

Opposition

10. Mahdi Karroubi on Sunday said that the confessions of political prisoners in court had no value. He asked the government to find a solution the current problem and asked them to stop trials, arrests and creating panic and fear among the people.

11. Shirin Ebadi today said that the trial was not held for the defendants; but for legitimizing Ahmadinejad’s government by forcing people to say that there was no fraud during the elections. She added that the trials held no legal merit.

12. It has been confirmed that Hashemi Rafsanjani may have left Tehran for Kerman in order to avoid participating in Ahmadinejad’s confirmation by Khamenei.

13. Mohsen Rezaie today asked that if reformists could be put on trial, then the government should also put on trial members of security forces, who violated Iranian laws during the post-election unrest.

14. Ebrahim Yazdi – the Secretary-General of the Freedom Movement of Iran – today said that the prosecutor’s claims, during the trial of reformists, was an attack on the integrity of the regime. He called the confessions immoral and said that it was an example of the in-fighting amongst various factions of the regime.

Government / International

15. The confirmation ceremony of Ahmadinejad by Khamenei was held today in Tehran. The ceremony was attended by Ayatollah Hashemi Shahrodi, Ali Larejani, Ahmad Jannati, Mohsen Rezaie, Ayatollah Golpaygani, Mojtaba Khamenei, Ahmad Najafi, Afshin Ghotbi, Hossein Rezazadeh, Hamid Reza Saakit, Jahangir Almasi, Mohammad Reza Sharifinya, Mohammad Saleh ‘Ala and Mahmood Khosravi Wafa. During the ceremony, Ahmadinejad did not kiss Khamenei’s hand as he normally does and instead planted a kiss on the Supreme Leader’s shoulder.

16. Neither Khatami nor Rafsanjani – two former presidents of Iran – attended the ceremony. It had been speculated that at least Rafsanjani might attend, but he has left Tehran and is reportedly in Kerman. No member of Imam Khomeini’s family attended the ceremony either.

17. IRIB did not broadcast the appointment ceremony live. Some government-run news outlets, however, did report the ceremony as it went along.

(Picture Courtesy of Enduring America: The top shot shows the confirmation from today while the shot below is from Ahmadinejad’s confirmation 4 years ago.)
http://enduringamerica.com/wp-conten…uguration3.jpg

18. Ali Akbar Javanfekr, who is a senior advisor to Ahmadinejad on media affairs – resigned on Monday.

19. The office of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court has warned people to not comment on or criticize the trial of reformist leaders, reporters and other detainees. It added that anyone who did so would be prosecuted. The warning came after not only reformists, but even some conservative Iranian members of parliament openly criticized the trial and questioned its legitimacy.

20. Members of Iran’s Parliament have asked Ahmadinejad to provide answers as to why he sacked two distinguished and high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Intelligence last week. The two officials are Haji Habibullah and Khazayee. The MPs want to know why their sacking was undertaken without consultation with the parliament first.

21. Partially confirmed reports suggest that Iran’s Police Chief, claimed today, that they had discovered books and other material on how to wage a guerilla war campaign, from the election offices of reformist candidates. Full confirmation is still unavailable.

22. Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier asked the Iranian regime to release all political prisoners and respect the civil and political rights of the citizens of Iran. He also harshly criticized the trial of reformists that was held two days ago and reminded Iran it had to remain committed to its international commitments of respecting human rights.

23. Hashemi Rafsanjani’s son, Mahdi Hashemi said today that the trial of detained reformists was going to weaken the regime and the Supreme Leader. He called it a show trial and laughable.

Arrested / Released / killed

24. New reports indicate that 103 additional protesters have been moved to Evin that were arrested on Thursday. This number does not include the 50 protesters that the government announced it had detained.

25. New reports emerging from Evin suggest that Behzad Nabavi and Mohammad Ali Abtahi may have been tortured psychologically. The reports suggest that Behzad Nabavi was stripped naked and then taken to Abtahi’s cell and Abtahi was told to perform fellatio on him. Full confirmation is unavailable.

26. Pooya Maghsood Beigi is the newest victim whose death has been confirmed. He was arrested in Kermanshah on June 20 and died after suffering extreme torture in Kermanshah Prison. He died a few days after being released. Now reports have emerged that his mother, Zahra Nowrozi was arrested from Kermanshah yesterday.

27. Iranian media today reported that the three American hikers who were arrested from northwestern Iran, are being held on charges of espionage and were working for the CIA.

28. The commission for investigating the rights of detained protesters and other people who’ve been arrested in relation to the recent unrests, has confirmed the death of at least 62 people that they are aware of during these unrests.

29. The only good news from the past two days is the release of Masood Kordpour.

*A responsible twitter – @NedaAgain – has focused my attention to the issue of the veracity of Abtahi and other detainees’ confessions on August 1. His evidence and similar evidence provided by other Iranian sources seem to make it doubtful that Abtahi’s confession was from August 1. Facts reported by Iranian media say that Abtahi and other detainees were brought to court and after the trial session, immediately met with reporters and then were taken to prison. However, pictures and video show that while he was wearing prison uniform in court, he had on a crisp new shirt during the confession. Does it make sense to anyone else?

Picture during trial on right: http://i29.tinypic.com/25inm6g.jpg

Video of Confession:

Mohammad Ali Abtahi press confession August 1 2009

Important Correction: The Green Brief reported yesterday that: “One of Mousavi’s close aides, Alireza Beheshti – the son of Ayatollah Beheshti – has stated in an interview they have so far gathered the names of 1,700 detainees whose whereabouts are unknown.” Another journalist covering Iran, Fintan Dunne observed and corrected the statement which is rather misleading. The correct statement was that they had collected the names of 1,700 detainees, yet did not know the location and status of an unspecified and undetermined number of those detainees. Thanks Fin!

**In retaliation to the forced confessions being extracted from reformists in Iran, supporters of the Sea of Green around the world have started a new project: Watch Me Confess!

To Helpers

– Anonymous – the collective that organizes and runs this forum – needs donations to keep the servers running. They only need about 22,500
Cents a month to make this possible. If you do want to make a donation, please chip in your pennies here for the month of August: General Expense – Why We Protest

– Info on republishing the Green Brief: For Bloggers, News Sites and Forum who want to republish the Green Brief Plesae Read! – Why We Protest – IRAN

– Information on Tor: Tor Browser Bundle

– Discuss/Annotate: http://aic.openmsl.net/wiki/index.php/Green_Brief_47 ; Create it if it doesn’t exist.

– (A list of all the Green Briefs: http://ded1.hybrid-optix.com/greenbriefs.html

– A hearty thanks to Sahar joon and S joon for helping me out with proof-reading and very valuable tips. Also, a BIG THANKS to all the translators who’re spending their precious time on getting this to as many people as possible.

Report on the Trial of Reformists (August 1 – Mordad 10)

Trial Proceedings

Today, the Iranian government put more than 100 detainees on trial, who according the government, were responsible amongst other things for sabotage, anti-government activity, subversion and the instigation of a ‘Velvet Revolution’ with help from foreign elements. Prominent reformists were among the detainees, including:

– Mohammad Ali Abtahi: A former Vice President of Iran and a close associate of former President Mohammad Khatami. He is a member of the central council of Association of Combatant Clerics (Majma’e Rowhaniyoon-e Mobarez).

– Mohsen Mirdamadi: Leader of the Islamic Iran Participation Front.

– Behzad Nabavi: A former Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Iran and one of the founders of the reformist party Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization.

– Mohsen Aminzadeh: Deputy Foreign Minister under Khatami.

– Abdollah Ramezanzadeh: A former spokesman and secretary of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran under Muhammad Khatami.

– Mohammad Atrianfar: The head of the “Policymaking Council” of the daily newspaper Shargh, a member of the Executives of Construction Party, a senior political advisor to Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former elected a member of the City Council of Tehran from 1999 to 2003 and the Vice Minister of Interior in Politics under Minister Abdollah Noori as well as a vice president in Defence Industries Organization of Iran and a former editor-in-chief of the newspaper Hamshahri.

Other detainees included prominent political activists, reporters and other important Iranian personalities. The presiding judge was Judge Salavati of the 15th circuit of the Revolutionary Courts (could not find his first name). The government had previously announced that only 20 people would be put on trial on similar charges. It is worth noting that the lawyers of many defendants were not present during the trial. Saleh Nikbakht, who’s been appointed by the families of Abtahi, Nabavi, Safaie Farahani and Aminzadeh to represent the defendants, later claimed he had not been allowed to be in court for the trial.

The government’s prosecutor quoted a ‘spy’ the government had apprehended and that could not be named because of ‘security’ reasons. According to the prosecutor, the spy had entered Iran recently. The prosecutor then continued to explain how the spy was involved in planning a ‘velvet revolution’. (I cannot confirm the name of the spy at this point as only one source has made a claim about his identity.)

The prosecutor then talked about ‘velvet revolutions’ that were held in Ukraine, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan. He named some prominent politicians, activists, feminists and reporters who had taken part in the planning and attempts at executing the said ‘revolution’.

Some of specific charges against the defendants were:

– Attacks on Military Installations with firearms and bombs.
– Attacks on government buildings and setting them on fire.
– Destruction of public and private property.
– Creating fear amongst the populace.
– Establishing contacts with militant organizations.
– Beating of ordinary citizens.
– Distributing leaflets against the government.
– Beating security forces.

The prosecutor also connected the defendants with George Soros – a billionaire who regularly helps fund ‘revolutions’ according to the prosecutor – and the US State Department. He said that the connection was established to coordinate the ‘revolution’.

It was claimed, during the initial trial, that some of the defendants had acknowledged the accuracy of the elections’ results and had denied that any fraud had taken place. Later, during ‘confessions’, Abtahi and Atrianfar declared that no fraud had taken place during the election. Abtahi also said that Rafsanjani, Khatami, Karroubi and Mousavi had made a pact to back each other up to discredit Ahmadinejad, in case he won the election.

He also went on to say that the ‘velvet revolution’ had agents who were to incite women, minorities, human rights activists, laborers, NGOs and students to take part. He blamed Shadi Sadr and Shirin Ebadi for inciting women. Nowsheen Hamadani Khorasani, an unknown individual, was also blamed for inciting women.

He further blamed, as being the ‘brains’ behind it, Hadi Qayemi – spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign in Iran – Mansoor Asanlo in charge of the Laborers wing, Sohrab Razaqi and Baqer Namazi of the NGOs wing and Abdul Kareem Sorosh.

Later, four of the defendants, Abtahi, Atrianfar, Tajbakhsh and Mazyar Bahari (an Iranian-Canadian journalist) faced the government media for questions. Some read their ‘confessions’.

Excerpt of Mohammad Ali Abtahi’s media ‘confession:

“After the election [Mohammad] Khatami and Rafsanjani had sworn to have each other’s back, and I don’t understand the point of it, knowing the difference [in votes between Ahmadienjad and Mousavi] was 11 million….Hashemi wanted to take revenge on Ahmadinejad and the Supreme Leader….

Mousavi probably did not know the country, but Khatami, with all due respect… knew all the issues. He was aware of the capability and power of the leader, but he joined Mousavi and this was a betrayal, …I see myself as a reformist but stated that Khatami did not have the right to force [this] on Mousavi. I did not agree with Ahmadinejad’s presidency but believe in people’s votes, and congratulated as people’s choice as the president.

It was wrong of me to take part in the rallies, but [Mehdi] Karroubi told me that we cannot call the people onto the streets with such a meager number of votes, so we had better go to the streets ourselves to demonstrate our protest.”

Abtahi’s full confession in Farsi:

The prosecutor also accused many defendants of participating in ‘terrorist’ activities against the state of Iran. He also accused them of being in touch with the MKO – a leftist Iranian paramilitary organization. He claimed they had been trained at Ashraf Camp in Iraq with American Forces. They had received logistic and financial support from America together with intelligence. Reza Khademi, Naser Abdolhosseini, Mohammad Noori, Hossein Shermohammadi, Azra Saadat Qazi, Naseh Fareedi, Amir Hossein Fotoohi, Mahdi Shirazi, Hassam Salamat, Mohammad Reza Ali-Zamani, Ahmad Karimi and Hamed Rohinezhad were all accused of taking part in these ‘terrorist’ activities.

Government Reaction

The only government reaction came from Tehran’s representative in the parliament, Hamid Rasayee, who said that the trial had paved the way for the government to prosecute the real leaders of the riot (this is only partially confirmed at this point).

Opposition Reaction

Mousavi’s statement:

“It is being said that the sons of revolution have confessed to planning to overthrow the Islamic Republic and the role of foreigners in this. I personally and carefully examined their words and did not find any truth to any of them… What we saw and you saw is nothing but an unskilled preparation for the start of the government’s term. They want a court that is fraudulent to find instances of fraud in the elections.”

He added that the defendants should know that people know the confessions were only made to save the lives of the defendants.

The IIPF released a statement which says, “The coup d’état led by the totalitarians has entered a new phase by the comedy show they have staged – disguised as a snazzy courtroom to put a number of the detainees on trial”.
Full Statement here: IIPF Statement – Why We Protest – IRAN

Abtahi’s wife said that Abtahi had been forced to take psychoactive medication, to break him down and to force him to say whatever he was told. Her statement was corroborated by Mohammad Reza Tabesh – a reformist member of parliament. He also condemned the trials as a sham. Abtahi’s wife called the trials inhumane and senseless.

Mohsen Mirdamadi’s wife said that family members of defendants were not allowed to talk to them, before or after the trial and they were taken away just as soon as the session was adjourned. She said that her family were not even allowed to be present during the trial.

Sayed Mohammad Khatami said the trials were against the constitution and that such acts were deeply endangering the regime.

Rafsanjani’s office dismissed allegations of Rafsanjani’s participation in any ‘velvet revolution’ and called all statements against Rafsanjani ludicrous.

Famous Iranian lawyer Mohammad Hossein Aghasi spoke to Voice of America from Iran and said that the trial could not be called one. He added that it was like ‘a theatre act’ staged by the government.

International Reaction

Reporters Without Borders released a statement calling the trial a joke and condemned it.

Iranian Media

Reformist media outlets were completely barred from attending the trial and the only news coming out was through government-run media.

Fars News reported a statement attributed to Abtahi which was markedly different from what he actually said in court.

Keyhan News used the trial for its front page headline. It accused reformist leaders of attempting to hold a ‘velvet revolution’ and called the confessions proof of what had actually occurred.

For a compilation of videos related to the trial: Video Blog…

(Excerpts were also used from Enduring America and Fereshteh Ghazi’s report on the trial.)

The Green Brief #46 (August 1 – Mordad 11)

I’m NiteOwl AKA Josh Shahryar – twitter.com/iran_translator on twitter. I’m a journalist and a human rights activist and NOT Iranian. This is a compilation of news from Iran that I’ve gathered through twitter and Iranian sites that were advertised on twitter. Remember, this is all from tweets. (My work is released under Creative Commons (CC).)

These are the important happenings that I can positively confirm from Saturday, August 1 – Mordad 11.

The Report on the Trial of Reformists is at the end of the Brief

Protests / Unrest

1. A protest has been planned for today at 11 AM Tehran time, in front of the Judiciary Chief Shahroodi’s office. The protest is being held against the trial, by the Iranian government, of around 100 reformist leaders, political prisoners and journalists. The families of the detainees have released statements asking for the people of Iran, to stand by them, in this time of need.

2. Protests are also planned for August 3 – the day of Ahmadinejad’s official appointment by Khamenei, as Iran’s president, August 5 – the day of Ahmadinejad’s inauguration – and August 7 – Imam Mahdi’s birthday celebration.

3. A group of students from Tehran’s San’ati Sharif University, held a candlelight vigil to mourn the death of protesters during the violent crackdown by government forces.

4. People are planning to overload electricity during the times when IRIB will be broadcasting the ‘confessions’ of the detained reformists.

5. There were reports of an extremely loud explosion in the southwestern city of Ahvaz today. The cause could not be confirmed.

6. People again climbed on their roofs and chanted Allah o Akbar, continuing their nightly ritual. Tonight, chants of “Free Political Prisoners!” could also be heard.

7. A new petition in support of Human Rights has been created. 28,000+ have already signed it. (Including me)
Here’s the link if you want to join the petitioners: http://bit.ly/DRrQa

Opposition

8. In an interview with GhalamNews today, Mousavi said that the Sea of Green had no contact with foreign elements. He also denounced propaganda aimed at connecting the Sea of Green with foreign countries. He said the Sea of Green was a public uprising, aimed at getting their deserved rights, guaranteed to them by the constitution. Mousavi added that people’s demands were within the framework of the Islamic Republic’s constitution and laws.

9. Conservative MP Emaad Afroogh said today, he was curious as to how the government intended to prove that a ‘Velvet Revolution’ was being planned. He added that calling people’s legitimate demands a ‘Velvet Revolution’ was an insult to the Iranian people and anyone propagating such insults should be prosecuted.

10. Hashemi Rafsanjani’s office today dismissed Mohammad Ali Abtahi’s ‘confession’ which implicated him in the ‘Velvet Revolution’. According to the office, Rafsanjani had not made a pact with Karroubi, Khatami and Mousavi that he would not support them in any ‘revolution’. They further asserted that Rafsanjani had, at no point, been involved with the protests and had not declared his support for any candidate during the elections.

10. Khamenei’s brother Hadi Khamenei, today criticized the government’s actions in the post-election violence. He said the cases of detention centers that have been closed, because of the inhumane conduct with detainees, needs to be investigated and the people involved violating human rights should be prosecuted. In a meeting with freed prisoners, Hadi Khamenei – who is a member of the Imam’s Way faction of parliament – said that the Guardian Council had erred in supporting a specific candidate and that the killing of peaceful protesters must end.

12. Unconfirmed reports suggest that Rafsanjani has moved out of Tehran to a safer area close to the city. This has been reportedly done to ensure his safety.

13. Members of the Imam’s Way faction of MPs will be holding a meeting with Mahdi Karroubi tomorrow.

Arrested / Released / Killed

14. It has now been confirmed 3 American hikers, have been arrested by Iranian border guards, after they mistakenly entered Iranian territory while hiking in Northeastern Iran. The Iranian media ran the story saying that the hikers repeatedly ignored warnings by the guards. The US has asked the Swiss Embassy in Tehran – which carries out diplomatic ties on behalf of the US with Tehran – to intervene and secure the release of the hikers as soon as possible.
(This might not seem relevant to the Iran Elections – yet we all know that this COULD become ugly if Iran decides to use the hikers to blame the US of intervention in Iran.)

15. Behazad Mohajer is the latest protester whose death has been confirmed. His body, which was kept at Kahrizak’s morgue, was handed over to his family yesterday. He was 47.

16. One of Mousavi’s close aides, Alireza Beheshti – the son of Ayatollah Beheshti – has stated in an interview they have so far gathered the names of 1,700 detainees whose whereabouts are unknown.

17. Reports from Mashhad indicate that during the protests on Thursday, more than 30 people were arrested.

18. The Association for the Defense of Children’s Rights have sent a letter to Ayatollah Shahrodi – the head of Iran’s Judiciary – asking him to investigate the cases of underage detainees who were arrested in the post-election turmoil. The association has also shown a willingness to represent these children in court, if they were put on trial.

Media

19. Keyhan Daily has published a report claiming evidence of Mousavi and Khatami’s betrayal of Iran has been gathered and will be published soon.

20. Press TV published an article today, citing government sources, saying that the Sea of Green was planning on planting bombs to create an atmosphere of unrest and violence in the country.
(Don’t worry, this is the least bit of shocking news you’ll get.)

Picture of the day (Front Page of Keyhan Daily): http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b…g?t=1249226639
(The large red circle says: “Evidence of Mousavi’s Betrayal of Iran Exposed!” while the small red circle says: “Evidence of Inhuman Torture of Detainees by Americans in Bagram Prison [Afghanistan]).

Report on the Trial of Reformists

Trial Proceedings

Today, the Iranian government put more than 100 detainees on trial, who according the government, were responsible amongst other things for sabotage, anti-government activity, subversion and the instigation of a ‘Velvet Revolution’ with help from foreign elements. Prominent reformists were among the detainees, including:

– Mohammad Ali Abtahi: A former Vice President of Iran and a close associate of former President Mohammad Khatami. He is a member of the central council of Association of Combatant Clerics (Majma’e Rowhaniyoon-e Mobarez).

– Mohsen Mirdamadi: Leader of the Islamic Iran Participation Front.

– Behzad Nabavi: A former Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Iran and one of the founders of the reformist party Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization.

– Mohsen Aminzadeh: Deputy Foreign Minister under Khatami.

– Abdollah Ramezanzadeh: A former spokesman and secretary of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran under Muhammad Khatami.

– Mohammad Atrianfar: The head of the “Policymaking Council” of the daily newspaper Shargh, a member of the Executives of Construction Party, a senior political advisor to Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former elected a member of the City Council of Tehran from 1999 to 2003 and the Vice Minister of Interior in Politics under Minister Abdollah Noori as well as a vice president in Defence Industries Organization of Iran and a former editor-in-chief of the newspaper Hamshahri.

Other detainees included prominent political activists, reporters and other important Iranian personalities. The presiding judge was Judge Salavati of the 15th circuit of the Revolutionary Courts (could not find his first name). The government had previously announced that only 20 people would be put on trial on similar charges. It is worth noting that the lawyers of many defendants were not present during the trial. Saleh Nikbakht, who’s been appointed by the families of Abtahi, Nabavi, Safaie Farahani and Aminzadeh to represent the defendants, later claimed he had not been allowed to be in court for the trial.

The government’s prosecutor quoted a ‘spy’ the government had apprehended and that could not be named because of ‘security’ reasons. According to the prosecutor, the spy had entered Iran recently. The prosecutor then continued to explain how the spy was involved in planning a ‘velvet revolution’. (I cannot confirm the name of the spy at this point as only one source has made a claim about his identity.)

The prosecutor then talked about ‘velvet revolutions’ that were held in Ukraine, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan. He named some prominent politicians, activists, feminists and reporters who had taken part in the planning and attempts at executing the said ‘revolution’.

Some of specific charges against the defendants were:

– Attacks on Military Installations with firearms and bombs.
– Attacks on government buildings and setting them on fire.
– Destruction of public and private property.
– Creating fear amongst the populace.
– Establishing contacts with militant organizations.
– Beating of ordinary citizens.
– Distributing leaflets against the government.
– Beating security forces.

The prosecutor also connected the defendants with George Soros – a billionaire who regularly helps fund ‘revolutions’ according to the prosecutor – and the US State Department. He said that the connection was established to coordinate the ‘revolution’.

It was claimed, during the initial trial, that some of the defendants had acknowledged the accuracy of the elections’ results and had denied that any fraud had taken place. Later, during ‘confessions’, Abtahi and Atrianfar declared that no fraud had taken place during the election. Abtahi also said that Rafsanjani, Khatami, Karroubi and Mousavi had made a pact to back each other up to discredit Ahmadinejad, in case he won the election.

He also went on to say that the ‘velvet revolution’ had agents who were to incite women, minorities, human rights activists, laborers, NGOs and students to take part. He blamed Shadi Sadr and Shirin Ebadi for inciting women. Nowsheen Hamadani Khorasani, an unknown individual, was also blamed for inciting women.

He further blamed, as being the ‘brains’ behind it, Hadi Qayemi – spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign in Iran – Mansoor Asanlo in charge of the Laborers wing, Sohrab Razaqi and Baqer Namazi of the NGOs wing and Abdul Kareem Sorosh.

Later, four of the defendants, Abtahi, Atrianfar, Tajbakhsh and Mazyar Bahari (an Iranian-Canadian journalist) faced the government media for questions. Some read their ‘confessions’.

Excerpt of Mohammad Ali Abtahi’s media ‘confession:

“After the election [Mohammad] Khatami and Rafsanjani had sworn to have each other’s back, and I don’t understand the point of it, knowing the difference [in votes between Ahmadienjad and Mousavi] was 11 million….Hashemi wanted to take revenge on Ahmadinejad and the Supreme Leader….

Mousavi probably did not know the country, but Khatami, with all due respect… knew all the issues. He was aware of the capability and power of the leader, but he joined Mousavi and this was a betrayal, …I see myself as a reformist but stated that Khatami did not have the right to force [this] on Mousavi. I did not agree with Ahmadinejad’s presidency but believe in people’s votes, and congratulated as people’s choice as the president.

It was wrong of me to take part in the rallies, but [Mehdi] Karroubi told me that we cannot call the people onto the streets with such a meager number of votes, so we had better go to the streets ourselves to demonstrate our protest.”

Abtahi’s full confession in Farsi:

The prosecutor also accused many defendants of participating in ‘terrorist’ activities against the state of Iran. He also accused them of being in touch with the MKO – a leftist Iranian paramilitary organization. He claimed they had been trained at Ashraf Camp in Iraq with American Forces. They had received logistic and financial support from America together with intelligence. Reza Khademi, Naser Abdolhosseini, Mohammad Noori, Hossein Shermohammadi, Azra Saadat Qazi, Naseh Fareedi, Amir Hossein Fotoohi, Mahdi Shirazi, Hassam Salamat, Mohammad Reza Ali-Zamani, Ahmad Karimi and Hamed Rohinezhad were all accused of taking part in these ‘terrorist’ activities.

Government Reaction

The only government reaction came from Tehran’s representative in the parliament, Hamid Rasayee, who said that the trial had paved the way for the government to prosecute the real leaders of the riot (this is only partially confirmed at this point).

Opposition Reaction

Mousavi’s statement:

“It is being said that the sons of revolution have confessed to planning to overthrow the Islamic Republic and the role of foreigners in this. I personally and carefully examined their words and did not find any truth to any of them… What we saw and you saw is nothing but an unskilled preparation for the start of the government’s term. They want a court that is fraudulent to find instances of fraud in the elections.”

He added that the defendants should know that people know the confessions were only made to save the lives of the defendants.

The IIPF released a statement which says, “The coup d’état led by the totalitarians has entered a new phase by the comedy show they have staged – disguised as a snazzy courtroom to put a number of the detainees on trial”.
Full Statement here: IIPF Statement – Why We Protest – IRAN

Abtahi’s wife said that Abtahi had been forced to take psychoactive medication, to break him down and to force him to say whatever he was told. Her statement was corroborated by Mohammad Reza Tabesh – a reformist member of parliament. He also condemned the trials as a sham. Abtahi’s wife called the trials inhumane and senseless.

Mohsen Mirdamadi’s wife said that family members of defendants were not allowed to talk to them, before or after the trial and they were taken away just as soon as the session was adjourned. She said that her family were not even allowed to be present during the trial.

Sayed Mohammad Khatami said the trials were against the constitution and that such acts were deeply endangering the regime.

Rafsanjani’s office dismissed allegations of Rafsanjani’s participation in any ‘velvet revolution’ and called all statements against Rafsanjani ludicrous.

Famous Iranian lawyer Mohammad Hossein Aghasi spoke to Voice of America from Iran and said that the trial could not be called one. He added that it was like ‘a theatre act’ staged by the government.

International Reaction

Reporters Without Borders released a statement calling the trial a joke and condemned it.

Iranian Media

Reformist media outlets were completely barred from attending the trial and the only news coming out was through government-run media.

Fars News reported a statement attributed to Abtahi which was markedly different from what he actually said in court.

Keyhan News used the trial for its front page headline. It accused reformist leaders of attempting to hold a ‘velvet revolution’ and called the confessions proof of what had actually occurred.

For a compilation of videos related to the trial: Video Blog…

(Excerpts were also used from Enduring America and Fereshteh Ghazi’s report on the trial.)

*Discuss/Annotate: http://aic.openmsl.net/wiki/index.php/Green_Brief_46 ; Create it if it doesn’t exist.

**If you wanna republish the Green Brief, please visit this page: For Bloggers, News Sites and Forum who want to republish the Green Brief Plesae Read! – Why We Protest – IRAN

***For Radio Broadcasters: Green Brief Pronounciation Guide – Why We Protest – IRAN

****(A list of all the Green Briefs: http://ded1.hybrid-optix.com/greenbriefs.html

*****A hearty thanks to Sahar joon and S joon for helping me out with proof-reading and very valuable tips. Also, a BIG THANKS to all the translators who’re spending their precious time on getting this to as many people as possible.

Read this if you want to help or get help!

Helpers:

A. You can retweet this link and help others know what is going on in Iran.

B. The government in Iran is still increasing internet filtering and throttling in an attempt to silence their people. Anonymous info shows that many in Iran are looking for proxy and Tor information in Tehran and all around the country. Please donate your bandwidth to help bring down the Iran Curtain. Here are links on how to help and get help on this:

English:

http://torir.org

Tor Browser Bundle

IIPF Statement

In the Name of God, the merciful, the compassionate

The coup d’état led by the totalitarians has entered a new phase by the comedy show they have staged – disguised as a snazzy courtroom to put a number of the detainees on trial.

What was of most importance in today’s trial was the prosecutor’s statements which were expected to be serious and strong given that detainees had been at their disposal for more than 50 days under pressure and in isolation. But they are in such rage and shock of the failure of their coup d’état that the result [the statement] was nothing but a headline from Keyhan [the pro-Ahmadinejad newspaper famous for its lack of journalistic integrity and sensationalized headlines] which would even make a dead chicken laugh. They have been so hasty in preparing the statement that they have even made errors in the naming the members of the Participation Front, which are all readily available online. For example, they have named Dr. Tajik, who headed the Center for Strategic Studies under the Khatami administration, as a member of the Participation Front! Unfortunately, in this heavily politicized, unprofessional and baseless document, the analysis presented was just as inaccurate.

In this statement, which was sent to Farsnews (as the main propaganda machine of the leaders of the coup) before all other media outlets, the depth of hatred these leaders feel towards the eight years of reform, its remarkable achievements, and its leader, Seyed Mohammad Khatami was widely seen.

This statement has at times turned into a full blown defense of socialist countries where stealing votes was rampant. In other places, in order to prove accusations of a velvet revolution in Iran, they have compared our country and our system to that of socialist systems. To do so, they’ve used fabrications offered by security forces which only seem to show their low IQs and scattered minds.

What is interesting is that in this statement they have shown their own goals in their coup d’état. The inauspicious aim was to silence reformist factions and independent non-governmental organizations. To do this, they’ve iterated baseless accusations, inline with irrelevant observations which have nothing to do with what the aim of their statements.

They have stolen our documents and now claim to have made a great discovery. In their statements, they’ve used quotes out of our document called “A Contemplation into Taking Forward our Political/Organizational Goals” (which they wrongly quote as “A Deal for Taking Forward our Political/Organizational Goals”) [Note: “Contemplation” is ta-amolot and “deal” is ta-aamolat in Persian]:

“In the first step [we aim for] presence in the presidential body, parliament and city councils. And in the next steps, having members in the Council of Experts is a good strategy for those who strive for democracy and the rule of the people”

Now we must ask those who’ve prepared this document after 50 days of silence and oppression: is it unlawful for a legal party to plan and strategize for winning people’s votes and being legally elected into political bodies? Or are political parties simply there to blindly approve and cheer anything that is dictated from above? In another place in this document, we’ve written of finding strategies to turn crises and disorder into opportunities for reinforcing the democratic aspects of the system, we’ve written about negotiations ( instead of creating more disturbance and chaos) as the only way to create a stable system and real unity. And you have called this an unforgivable crime?! What can we call your words but treason? Since when are those who create chaos to destroy the democratic aspects of the system considered “servants” to the system and those who strive for calm and creating unity traitors? How well you have shown your hatred and enmity of democracy and human values. It is this exact hatred which creates a suspicion of voter fraud. You want us to believe that those who, upon hearing words like “the nation’s vote” or “democracy”, burn like small ashes on a great fire from their anger, won’t touch the people’s votes if the opportunity presents itself? Who are these statements truly hurting? Unknowingly, these statements are against the totalitarians themselves.

In regards to the confessions of Hojatolleslam Abtahi, the position of the Participation Front is what it has always been in the face of other such farce trials and confessions. In our view, Abtahi’s opinions on what he was asked in court are those that were available on his weblog before he was detained. Those opinions which he has reiterated, time and time again when not under pressure, not in solitary confinement, and not in custody. Just like in the past, when we saw that when the prisoners were released they insisted on their previous views [and not on what they said during forced confession]. Thus, we see this as a futile attempt which only serves to pain us and the vigilant, intelligent people of Iran.

The Islamic Iran Participation Front hopes that the continuing days of this trial will be different than the useless, disgraceful and nauseous path it took today. We request that the hostages be allowed to see their families, and that their lawyers have access to their documents. And we warn the current establishment that such petty trials will not result in anything and will not serve as an excuse for their violent rampage and murder. Instead of propping such advertising campaigns, it would be better for you to think of a way to answer to an entire nation that has seen your true face in the past 50 days, has seen the body of their martyrs in bewilderment and mourning. People who have courageously appeared on the frontlines despite your bullets and batons. The real courtroom, before the courtroom of the Lord, shall be in their presence.

The Islamic Iran Participation Front

10/05/88

(August 1st, 2009)

The Green Brief #45 (July 31)

I’m NiteOwl AKA Josh Shahryar – twitter.com/iran_translator on twitter. I’m a journalist and a human rights activist and NOT Iranian. This is a compilation of news from Iran that I’ve gathered through twitter and Iranian sites that were advertised on twitter. Remember, this is all from tweets. (My work is released under Creative Commons (CC).)

These are the important happenings that I can positively confirm from Friday, July 31.

I am writing a one time only special report on today’s trials. Should be out soon as I want to pay attention to other matters in GB 46.

In German: http://tinyurl.com/kqw6yx

Protests / Unrest

1. Hundreds of citizens of Qazvin have sent protest letters to Ali Larijani – head of Parliament – and to their two representatives in the legislative body. They have demanded the elections be annulled, fresh elections be held, all prisoners to be freed and the people responsible for violence against the protesters be put on trial.

2. 12 prominent Iranian filmmakers also sent a letter to members of the parliament asking them to do their constitutional duty and help solve the crisis. The filmmakers have demanded the release of the detainees and a peaceful solution to the turmoil that has been plaguing the country for weeks.

3. The government is now indiscriminately blocking access to satellite channels in a bid to stop the flow of news to the protesters. The tactic is reportedly an attempt by the government to stop the protesters from knowing about other protests being held around the country.

4. In Thursday’s protests, Iranians burned a Russian flag. Picture: http://bit.ly/19jsNv

Opposition

5. Reports suggest that the majority of Iranian Ayatollahs are conducting frantic meetings across the country, in an attempt to sway each over the conflict.

6. Assembly of Qom Seminary Scholars and Researchers has issued a statement urging the protesters to continue their protests and that the protestors had the support of the Assembly. The statement called the violence against the protestors following the election, one of the worst acts that one could commit. The Association’s members include prominent clerics such as Ayatollah Mohammad Va’ez Abaee-Khorasani, Ayatollah Mousavi Tabrizi and Ayatollah Asadollah Bayat-Zanjani.

7. The son of Ayatollah Beheshti – one of the founders of the Islamic Republic – Alireza Beheshti, said in an interview that the regime never thought the people would stand behind Mousavi. He also added that the real number of people arrested was unknown and hinted that the government was deliberately attempting to distort the facts about detainees, making it more difficult to obtain their release.

8. Ayatollah Hojjati Kermani, today in an interview questioned the validity of the government’s claim that post-election violence was the work of foreigners. He said in the past 30 years the government had used ‘blaming others’ for too many problems. He added that the country’s freedom was at stake, people’s lives and their faith was in danger.

9. During Friday prayers in Qom, Ayatollah Ebrahim Amini said that the youth wanted change and couldn’t tolerate tyranny, so they would always rebel against it. He said that their voices needed to be heard if their demands are legitimate. He also asked for prisoners to be treated humanely and within the law, welcoming the Judiciary’s order to complete investigations within a week about all detainees.

10. Sayed Mohammad Khatami, today met with the families of protesters who were killed in the past few weeks, again. He met the families of Ashkan Sohrabi and Kyanosh Aasa at Sohrab A’rabi’s house. He also met with the family of Masood Hashemzadeh. He asked each of the families for details about the death of their loved ones and asked the government to investigate the cases of the protesters who’ve been killed as well as the detainees.

11. The spokesperson for the US State Department on Thursday criticized the Iranian government for using force against peaceful mourners and protestors.

Government / International

12. A German firm which had warned its employees they could risk getting fired if they protested in Iran, in any way, has withdrawn the threat. Knauf Gips KG had issued a letter – written by Isabel Knauf – threatening all employees in Iran they would be dismissed if they took part in political demonstrations. German Firm Withdraws Threat to Fire Employees in Iran: http://iranquest.com/blog/?p=8695

13. Khamenei has supposedly ordered a commission to be formed to meet with the families of protesters who have been killed and detained in the past weeks. The commission will address the families’ grievances. To date the commission has met with the father of Mohsen Rohulamini.

14. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday said that his relationship with Khamenei was like that between a father and a son and that it will not deteriorate. Ahmadinejad who is in Mashhad also said that Ejaie had reportedly not carried out some of his orders and indicated that it was part of the reason why Ejaie had been dismissed.

15. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, yesterday claimed that the West had directly interfered in Iranian affairs during the election. It blamed the UK especially and said that foreign countries had used their media outlets to instigate protests, which had shown protesters how to make explosives and commit violence.

16. In his Friday Sermon, Ayatollah Jannat warned those responsible for the protests that they will be prosecuted and that the situation was not going to remain the same forever. He blamed Mousavi and Karroubi for the death of protesters, asked them to apologize to the families of those protesters and to take the blame. He said that protesters who had committed violence will not be released and yet again called the elections free and fair, adding that the opposition couldn’t see a man like Ahmadinejad be elected by the people.

Arrests / Releases / Deaths

17. Three American tourists were arrested by Iranian border guards in northwestern Iran after the tourists, who were on a hiking trip in Iraq, mistakenly crossed the border into Iran.

18. The government has confirmed the arrest of at least 50 mourners from Beheshte Zahra on Thursday. Detainees include at least one cleric, Hojjatul-Islam Dr. Soleimani – a member of the Assembly of Qom Seminary Scholars and Researchers.

19. It has now been confirmed that Ali Asghar Hadizadeh, a gold medal-winning para-Olympian and a former MP, has also been arrested from Enghelab Square on July 15.

20. The parliamentary commission assigned to report on the condition of detainees and their cases has not been allowed by the government to meet with political prisoners. The spokesperson for the commission, Mahdi Sanayee told ILNA that as of yet, he wasn’t sure when the government would allow them to meet with political prisoners.

21. A political prisoner who was recently released from Evin recounts that they were interrogated specifically to get confessions that implicated a foreign hand in the recent unrests.

22. Maryam Khazayee, a children’s rights activist, has been detained by intelligence agents. Her whereabouts are unknown at this point. Seema Nasrati, blogger and reporter, has been released from prison.

23. Mohammad Aowlyaee-fard, an prominent Iranian lawyer, stated in an interview that there are other clandestine detention centers where prisoners are being treated the same as they were being treated at Kahrizak. He said that they were looking into the matter and details would be released soon.
Media

23. Fars News has asked the government to detain and prosecute Rafsanjani, Khatami, Mousavi and Karroubi for instigating violence and disrupting the country’s peace.

24. Keyhan Daily criticized Shirin Ebadi for her statements and actions during the post-election violence and called her a ‘murderous hag’.

25. On Friday, IRIB finally stopped playing Shajarian’s patriotic songs after several complaints by him and other organizations.

26. Fars News has published an outrageous report. It is so shocking that you just have to read the source: Fars News Agency :: Thousands of Inmates Freed in Iran after Amnesty by Leader.

Miscellaneous

27. Statues in Italy, adorned with green ribbons and bands:
IranianZ.com ~ PersianToronto.com

*Discuss/Annotate: http://aic.openmsl.net/wiki/index.php/Green_Brief_45 ; Create it if it doesn’t exist.

**If you wanna republish the Green Brief, please visit this page: For Bloggers, News Sites and Forum who want to republish the Green Brief Plesae Read! – Why We Protest – IRAN

***For Radio Broadcasters: Green Brief Pronounciation Guide – Why We Protest – IRAN

****(A list of all the Green Briefs: http://ded1.hybrid-optix.com/greenbriefs.html

*****A hearty thanks to Sahar joon and S joon for helping me out with proof-reading and very valuable tips. Also, a BIG THANKS to all the translators who’re spending their precious time on getting this to as many people as possible.

Read this if you want to help or get help!

Helpers:

A. You can retweet this link and help others know what is going on in Iran.

B. The government in Iran is still increasing internet filtering and throttling in an attempt to silence their people. Anonymous info shows that many in Iran are looking for proxy and Tor information in Tehran and all around the country. Please donate your bandwidth to help bring down the Iran Curtain. Here are links on how to help and get help on this:

English:

http://torir.org

http://torir.brokep.com

The Green Brief #44 (July 30)

I’m NiteOwl AKA Josh Shahryar – twitter.com/iran_translator on twitter. I’m a journalist and a human rights activist and NOT Iranian. This is a compilation of news from Iran that I’ve gathered through twitter and Iranian sites that were advertised on twitter. Remember, this is all from tweets. (My work is released under Creative Commons (CC).)

These are the important happenings that I can positively confirm from Thursday, July 30.

For Yesterday’s Brief: http://tinyurl.com/lavmp8

In Polish: http://glosiranu.blog.pl/archiwum/in…p?nid=14426314

In German: http://kyrah.net/gr88/gb44.html

Protests / Unrest

1. Protesters all over Iran were prevented from mourning the death of other protesters today. Reports suggested that Khamenei had asked for no violence but unfortunately this was not the case.

2. In Tehran, the plan was for people to first gather at Beheshte Zahra Cemetery, recite Koran and then head towards Grand Mosalla through Khosravi Avenue. There the people were supposed to gather and listen to the reformists and other clerics speak about the protesters who had lost their lives.

3. Around 30-40 thousand people tried to gather at Beheshte Zahra Cemetery throughout the morning. As more and more people arrived, it became difficult for everyone to enter the cemetery. Thousands stayed outside and gathered around the perimeter. Security forces had blocked entrances to Khosravi Avenue where Neda was killed.

4. Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mahdi Karroubi, Mousavi’s wife Zahra Rahnavard, Abdollah Nouri, Ayatollah Mousavi Tabrizi and Haji Mahdi Ghaffari all came to Beheshte Zahra Cemetery separately. Mousavi was immediately escorted off the grounds of the cemetery by the security forces before he could make his way towards Neda’s grave. Karroubi was able to give a speech. Sohrab A’rabi’s mother also managed to make it to the Cemetery and spoke to the mourners. Sohrab’s brother read the names of many of the fallen protesters.

5. At least 200 security forces had gathered at the Cemetery. They tried to block the area around Neda’s grave and other prominent protesters’ graves called area 257. However, as Karroubi entered the cemetery, protesters broke through the security forces and thousands gathered around Neda’s grave.

6. Thousands of protestors gathered across Tehran at Valiasr and Vanak Squares, at Beheshti, Motahhari, Hafez Shamali, Zartusht and Fatemi Avenues. Others gathered at Sayed Maidan and Hafte Tir Square. Many other areas of Tehran also saw large gatherings of protesters and mourners. By far the largest crowds were gathered at Valiasr with witnesses describing thousands of protesters chanting anti-government slogans.

7. The Basij and other security forces used brutal tactics against the people, yet again. In the morning, they closed the doors to Mosalla, stranding people outside. The security forces used extreme force to remove people from the area. Several videos show them firing tear gas into the crowd of protestors. Yet again several protestors were badly beaten with batons.

8. Protesters were also beaten at Beheshte Zahra where one man’s skull was fractured after being hit repeatedly by batons. Security forces tried to remove protesters – many of them women – from around Neda’s grave injuring many of them. Despite having 200 security forces at the cemetery they failed to stop the people from gathering around Neda’s grave.

9. Away from Beheshte Zahra and Mosalla, clashes were reported all over Tehran. At Valiasr, protesters were beaten with batons, then tear gas was shot into the crowd, finally, after they refused to disperse, bullets were fired directly at the people. At least ten people have been injured and one fatality has been confirmed. The people had tried to give the security forces flowers and in return the security forces attacked them with tear gas.

10. On Amirabad Street and Abbas Abad Street the clashes were less violent although 10 people were still injured. Shots were heard from Amirabad. Clashes were also reported from Beheshti, Motahhari, North Hafez, Zartusht and Fatemi Avenues. At Vanak, people threw stones at security forces to try and drive them back. Riot police also smashed the windows of cars with no regard for the safety of the driver or passengers.

11. Helicopters flew above Beheshte Zahra from early morning; they also flew over other parts of Central Tehran. SMS was completely shut down. In many areas, people set garbage on fire and smoke could be seen all over Tehran’s skies.

12. Security forces also video-taped protesters so they could be identified and arrested later. Hundreds of protesters also gathered round the Ministry of Interior and the IRIB building. Slogans chanted today were, “Iranian Republic, Independence, Freedom,” “Death to the Dictator,” “Death to Russia,” and other slogans against Mojtaba Khamenei (Khamenei’s son). Protests in Tehran continued very late into the night.

13. The attitude of the security forces appeared weaker today. The number of protesters arrested from many areas of Tehran cannot be confirmed, but it appears the number was lower than the previous protests. Reports indicated that Mosalla was packed with Basijis and other special forces wearing black uniforms. They stormed out of the building and attacked people – although this can only be partially confirmed. A few Basijis were injured in the clashes and were taken from the scene by ambulance.

14. Outside Tehran, protesters and mourners gathered in Shiraz, Ahvaz, Isfahan, Rasht, Mashhad, Mahabad, Oromieh, Kermanshah, Arak and Tabriz. Clashes were reported from Isfahan, Shiraz, Ahvaz, Rasht, Mashhad, Mahabad and Oromieh.

15. 5-6 thousand people gathered in Maidane Enghelab, Ayeneh Khaneh Park, Sio-Seh Bridge and other parts of Isfahan. Security forces clashed with protesters violently. Reports of injuries or deaths could not be confirmed at this time. Tear gas again was used to disperse the crowds. Protesters were holding green placards with the names of the detained or dead protesters.

16. In Ahvaz, hundreds of protesters gathered at Kyanpars Avenue and chanted against Ahmadinejad and the regime. The weather was very hot, but protesters stayed for hours. At least 30 protesters were arrested after clashes with the security forces.

17. Close to 2,000 people gathered in Rasht. The protest was less violent than in other parts of Iran. Protesters filled the central part of the city while security forces largely stayed a few meters away and watched.

18. In Shiraz, a few hundred protestors gathered around the main Gas Plant in the city as well as in Azadi Park. They sang Yaare Dabestani and chanted slogans. Security forces later dispersed the crowds.

19. Smaller crowds gathered at Mellat Park in Mashhad. Clashes between protesters and security forces were reported, but no further information could be obtained at this point.

20. Neda’s mother held a silent candlelight vigil at a park near her home. She had previously said that she would not go to Neda’s grave at Beheshte Zahra Cemetery because she didn’t want the blame for anyone’s injury or death.
Here is a picture of her in the park (Courtesy of Enduring America): http://tinyurl.com/lbr6kw

21 All around the world people have held vigils for Neda and the other fallen protesters. A vigil was held at Union Square in New York City tonight, candles were lit and mourners sat in silence, holding pictures of Neda. In San Francisco, around 200 mourners gathered at the UN Plaza and held a candlelight vigil between 8-9pm. People handed out signs with the photo and name for each of the fallen. Everyone was requested to sit on the ground, while the name of each person who had fallen was read, followed by the sound of a bell. As the names of the fallen were read, the person holding the sign with the name of the fallen and stood in respect. The reading of the names was followed by 15 minutes of silence, after which, there was singing and chanting.
Pictures: (Courtesy of Dana – @dakster9) on Flickr – Photo Sharing!.

22. In Europe, vigils and flash demonstrations were held in many cities. In Flensburg, German, dozens of people gathered outside a Lutheran church to mourn Neda and the other protesters who have been killed by the security forces. Mourners sang songs, prayed, read anthems and poems and placed flowers in front of a picture of Neda. The gathering was organized and attended by “Deutsch-Iranischer Freundschaftsverein”, which has been recently formed in support of the Green Movement. Picture (Courtesy of Paleene): http://tinyurl.com/n66ue6

23. In Vienna, a flash demonstration was held in front of the parliament building. Around 25 people gathered, dressed in black and green, some of them carrying red roses. At 6:30 Vienna time the demonstration dropped themselves to the ground and lay motionless for 2 minutes. Pictures (Courtesy of @Kyrah) : ازادی

Opposition

24. In a meeting with parliament members from the Imam’s Way faction, Khatami today said that the government needs to prosecute the people who are responsible for killings and torture. He dismissed the government’s closing of Kahrizak, saying that torture had happened all over Iran and in other prisons as well Kahrizak. He also criticized the government’s decision to close Kahrizak just as a parliamentary commission was established to investigate the condition and treatment of detainees.
Government / International

Government / International

25. Reports indicate that the former Minister of Intelligence, Ejaie is forming a group with other disgruntled officials from Ahmadinejad’s government to oppose him. Full confirmation has not yet been received.

26. It has been reported and confirmed that several supporters of Mousavi and elements within security forces that are sympathetic to the protesters’ cause have been sacked or transferred away from Tehran.

Arrested / Released / Killed

27. Kazem Jalali, spokesman for the Iranian Parliament’s Special Committee, following up on recent events, announced today that Saeed Hajjarian has been moved from prison to a governmental housing facility. Jalali quoted Saeed Mortazavi, Tehran’s attorney general, saying that the new housing facility is equipped with welfare and medical facilities and that Mr. Hajjarian’s family is allowed to visit him at this new location.

28. The government has stopped Alireza Avaie from visiting Evin prison. He was turned away from the gates, by guards, after he went to prepare a report about the condition of detainees. Avaie is a high-ranking official in the Judiciary, responsible for an office within the Judiciary, whose responsibility is to investigate human rights abuses against the citizens of Tehran province.

29. Mahnaz Mohammadi, Jafar Panahi and Rukhsareh Ghayem-Magham who had been arrested earlier today have been released. Panahi and Mohammadi work in Iranian cinema and Ghayem-Magham is a renowned documentary maker.

30. Reports of the release of Mahsa Amrabadi are false.

31. Two more protesters have now been confirmed to have died:

– Mostafa Kya Rostami was killed two weeks ago during Rafsanjani’s sermon. He was 22. He succumbed to his injured four hours after being hit repeatedly on the head with batons.

– Saeed Esmaili-Khanbebin’s body was also returned to his family in Tehran after his family paid money to security forces. His funeral was tightly guarded by the police. He was 23. He also died of injuries inflicted by repeated blows to his head with batons.

Media

32. IRNA today published a report calling the mourners violent mobs. The news agency blamed the mourners for breaking the law and called their movement small and insignificant. It also claimed that Iranians wanted the government to suppress these protests as they had made the city insecure.

33. PressTV reported that, “Police have dispersed hundreds of Iranians who sought to gather in a cemetery south of the capital of Tehran to commemorate those killed in the post-election unrest”. The station did not mention anything about violence or other protests around the country.

Miscellaneous

Picture of the day from Tehran: http://bit.ly/OoWw8

Death to Khamenei written on a city bus: 20495517-8476285c09aee819c31e0c3de441ab38.4a7249a7-scaled.jpg (image)

*Discuss/Annotate: http://aic.openmsl.net/wiki/index.php/Green_Brief_44 ; Create it if it doesn’t exist.

**If you wanna republish the Green Brief, please visit this page: For Bloggers, News Sites and Forum who want to republish the Green Brief Plesae Read! – Why We Protest – IRAN

***For Radio Broadcasters: Green Brief Pronounciation Guide – Why We Protest – IRAN

****(A list of all the Green Briefs: http://ded1.hybrid-optix.com/greenbriefs.html

*****A hearty thanks to Sahar joon and S joon for helping me out with proof-reading and very valuable tips. Also, a BIG THANKS to all the translators who’re spending their precious time on getting this to as many people as possible.

Read this if you want to help or get help!

Helpers:

A. You can retweet this link and help others know what is going on in Iran.

B. Iranmapping: iranmap.whyweprotest.net ; If you would like to help out with compiling all the news stories from Iran in a geo-spatial context for Iranmapping, please follow the instruction over at IranMapping – Anonymous Intelligence Collective

C. The government in Iran is still increasing internet filtering and throttling in an attempt to silence their people. Anonymous info shows that many in Iran are looking for proxy and Tor information in Tehran and all around the country. Please donate your bandwidth to help bring down the Iran Curtain. Here are links on how to help and get help on this:

English:

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor and the Iranian Election – Bring down the Iran Curtain | Ian’s Brain

Farsi:

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor: آنلاين Tor

Get video torrents and help on Tor here:

Gonzo Times � Torrents List (82 videos)

The Green Brief #43 (July 29)

I’m NiteOwl AKA Josh Shahryar – twitter.com/iran_translator on twitter. I’m a journalist and a human rights activist and NOT Iranian. This is a compilation of news from Iran that I’ve gathered through twitter and Iranian sites that were advertised on twitter. Remember, this is all from tweets. (My work is released under Creative Commons (CC).)

These are the important happenings that I can positively confirm from Wednesday, July 29.

In German: http://tinyurl.com/n9l7qv

In Italian: http://tinyurl.com/m8bzrv

Protests / Unrest

1. Gatherings to honor protesters who’ve died in the post-election violence will be held today in Tehran and other parts of Iran. Mousavi, Karroubi and many other reformists are expected to join the protests.

2. Beheshte Zahra Cemetery, where most of Tehran’s protesters who were killed are buried, is currently in a state of lockdown. Plans have been put in place by the government, to stop the flow of protesters into the main grounds of the cemetery.

3 Neda’s mother has declined to join the mourners. She released a statement saying that she does not want to share the blame for the beatings, arrests or deaths of any mourners. However, she has indicated that others could do as they please and join the gatherings if they wanted to. Sohrab A’rabi’s mother will be joining the mourners, though.

4. The main gathering will be at Tehran Mosala, after a visit to Beheshte Zahra Cemetery. Thousands of people are expected to attend. It has been reported that protesters may march towards Neda’s house, after the gathering at Mosala.

5. SMS services have been disconnected throughout Tehran in anticipation of the protests on Thursday. Unconfirmed reports suggest that Khamenei has ordered Basijis and plainclothes men not to interfere with the mourners. He has stated that, at all costs, the Basijis and plainclothes men are to avoid gathering near Mosala. Other security forces are said to be in charge of keeping the peace.

6. At least 50 students of San’ati Sharif University have been forced to write forms stating they will not chant Allah o Akbar from their dorm rooms at night.

Opposition

7. The Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF) – the main reformist party – issued a statement on Wednesday. They stated that the Judiciary Chief’s one-week investigation, into the fate of arrested detainees, is a complete sham. The statement also said that crimes against citizens were continuing and were being perpetrated by the government. The only way to end turmoil – according to the statement – was the fall of Ahmadinejad’s government.

8. Ayatollah Mortaza Motahhari’s son, Mohammad Motahhari, has joined the Green Movement and issued a scathing criticism of the government. Mortaza Motahhari was one of Khomeini’s closest disciples and was a founding figure of the Combatant Clergy Association.

9. Ayatollah Montazeri has, yet again, released a statement criticizing the government, telling it to learn from what happened to the Shah. He added that the shutdown of Kahrizak detention facility was merely a government ploy to distract people. He asked the government to stop the Basij and IRG from killing innocent people and criticized the government for letting a few people control the fate of the whole nation.
Government / International

10. For the first time, the government has admitted that security forces might have been involved in violence during the protests. The overall head of Iran’s security forces, General Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, said today that some members of security forces have overreacted. Moghaddam also added that the government had paid at least 197 Iranians money, to compensate for damages to their property, sustained during the protests. The total amount of payments is about $50,000.

11. Kazem Jalali, the spokesperson for a parliamentary committee that is investigating the condition of detainees, as well as recent arrests, said today that the committee had received news of an underground detention facility, operated by the Ministry of Intelligence. The facility might be located beneath the ministry – according to Jalali. He said investigations were ongoing and declined to comment further.

Arrest / Released / Killed

12. Partially confirmed reports suggest that Javad Abbasi Kangevari – also known as Javad Azadeh Amoli – has been appointed as the chief interrogator for high-profile detainees. He has been appointed after a special order by Khamenei as other interrogators have so far failed to extort confessions from these detainees. Amoli is famous for being a proficient torturer and brutal interrogator. Hossein Ghorbanzadeh – also known as Hossein Gestapo – who is another notorious torturer – is at the moment the main man for extorting confessions from other detainees.

13. Alireza Eftekhari, a former report for Abrare Eghtesad, was killed on June 15 after sustaining massive head trauma. He had been hit badly by security forces armed with batons. It has been also confirmed that Amir Hossein Toofanpour has been killed in the unrest. No other information could be obtained about him or the circumstances of his death. A 16 year old protester Hossein Akbari’s body has also been handed over to his family. He had been missing for a month and his head, chest and limbs had sustained severe injuries from a blunt object – possibly a baton.

14. Saeed Hajjarian still remains in prison, even though it had been reported he would be released today. Today, Shayesteh Amiri – a former aide of Khatami -, Saeed Shariati – a high-ranking member of IIPF – and Fariborz Raees Dana were all arrested by security forces. Emad Behavar – a student activist – and Abolreza Tajik were released today.

15. Reports have partially confirmed that starting Saturday, trials for detained protesters and political prisoners, will commence in Tehran. IRNA also reported on Wednesday, that indictments had been issued against nearly 20 detainees, allegedly involved in “planning and carrying out sabotage”. Their trials are set for Saturday, IRNA reported. Among the detainees are members of MKO, as well as some members of Iran’s Baha’i minority. This could not be confirmed as of yet.

16. PressTV has announced that Iranian security forces have arrested a group of photographers who had been hired by foreign media outlets, to get photos and video of protests in Iran. Majid Saeedi and Satyar Imami – two photographers who have been detained for some time – were forced weeks ago to give confessions and have been introduced to the public as Iranians who are working for foreign elements.

Media

17. Hossein Shariatmadari – the representative of Khamenei in Keyhan Daily – wrote in his column today that the protesters killed in the past few weeks, had been killed by hired thugs, who had been paid for their services by Mousavi and Khatami.

Miscellaneous

18. The Italian government has named a street in Rome after Neda Agha-Soltan. Article in Italian: Neda: Roma le dedica una via

*Discuss/Annotate: http://aic.openmsl.net/wiki/index.php/Green_Brief_42 ; Create it if it doesn’t exist.

**If you wanna republish the Green Brief, please visit this page: For Bloggers, News Sites and Forum who want to republish the Green Brief Plesae Read! – Why We Protest – IRAN

***For Radio Broadcasters: Green Brief Pronounciation Guide – Why We Protest – IRAN

****(A list of all the Green Briefs: The Green Briefs

*****A hearty thanks to Sahar joon and S joon for helping me out with proof-reading and very valuable tips. Also, a BIG THANKS to all the translators who’re spending their precious time on getting this to as many people as possible.

Read this if you want to help or get help!

Helpers:

A. You can retweet this link and help others know what is going on in Iran.

B. Iranmapping: iranmap.whyweprotest.net ; If you would like to help out with compiling all the news stories from Iran in a geo-spatial context for Iranmapping, please follow the instruction over at IranMapping – Anonymous Intelligence Collective

C. The government in Iran is still increasing internet filtering and throttling in an attempt to silence their people. Anonymous info shows that many in Iran are looking for proxy and Tor information in Tehran and all around the country. Please donate your bandwidth to help bring down the Iran Curtain. Here are links on how to help and get help on this:

English:

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor and the Iranian Election – Bring down the Iran Curtain | Ian’s Brain

Farsi:

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor: آنلاين Tor

Get video torrents and help on Tor here:

Gonzo Times � Torrents List (82 videos)

The Green Brief #42 (July 28)

I’m NiteOwl AKA Josh Shahryar – twitter.com/iran_translator on twitter. I’m a journalist and a human rights activist and NOT Iranian. This is a compilation of news from Iran that I’ve gathered through twitter and Iranian sites that were advertised on twitter. Remember, this is all from tweets. (My work is released under Creative Commons (CC).)

These are the important happenings that I can positively confirm from Tuesday, July 28. (Some reports maybe from the 29th as well)

Protests / Unrests

1. The Ministry of Interior refused to issue a permit for gatherings on Thursday for mourning the 40th day of Neda’s death. However, Mousavi and other reformists have indicated that they would proceed with plans for gatherings, even if a permit is not issued. Mousavi and other reformist leaders will also visit the graves of protesters who have been killed during the unrests. Mousavi has reportedly suggested that his supporters make use of religious holy days for gatherings and rallies – full confirmation of this could not be obtained.

2. Two minutes of silence will be publicly observed in many parts of the world on Thursday. For more details on this and how to participate, please follow this link: The Silent Wave. The Silent Wave – Be still for Iran on Thursday July 30, 2009.

3. Saifullah Daad’s funeral will be held on Monday (Iran Time) and many reformists and Green Movement supporters are expected to attend. Partially confirmed reports suggest that Mir Hossein Mousavi will also be present.

4. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi and the Secretary General of Amnesty International Irene Khan have published a joint statement, declaring that the situation in Iran was getting worse. They expressed concern that violent repression was possible in retaliation to protests that might be held on the day of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s inauguration.

5. Mehr News has reported today that a bomb had been defused near Saderat Bank in Karaj. This remains unconfirmed for now.

6. Mousavi stencils in green are appearing all over Tehran. Picture: http://tinyurl.com/mnowfy

Opposition

7. Full Text of Mousavi’s Speech on Monday (English): Mir Hossein Mousavi میر حسین موسوی: Mousavi: “Religious celebrations are opportunities for the display of the “Green” movement’s creativity.” | Facebook (I went through as much of it as I could and the translation seems to be impeccable. Hopefully, those who were looking for it will find it useful).

8. Ninety two professors and faculty members of universities in Tabriz have sent a letter of support to Mousavi. The letter also asks the government to release political prisoners, ensure freedom of speech and stop violently oppressing peaceful protests.

9. Ayatollah Sayed Jalalludin Taheri Isfahani has written a letter supporting Rafsanjani’s stance in regard to the elections. He asked the political elite to join hands in finding a solution for the current turmoil. He stated that the regime and spirituality were in danger because of the present situation.

10. Ayatollah Bayat Zanjani also wrote a letter today to the reformist leadership. The letter states that the blood spilled, during the post election violence, was on the hands of those who have always thought little of people and have ignored their votes. He urged the reformists to continue to stand against the oppression that was taking place and said those who ignore such atrocities also share the blame.

11. In an interview, published in Etemaade Melli newspaper, Fakhrusadaat Mohtashamipour blamed the Guardian Council of overly supporting Ahmadinejad and hurting the oppositions’ campaigns using censor tactics and media as a tool.

12. Reformist leaders continue to meet with the families of protesters who’ve been killed or detained. On Monday, Mohammad Khatami met with the family of detained reporter Mohammad Ghochani and Mahdi Karroubi met with the family of Neda Aga-Soltan. Karroubi told the family of Neda that she had merged into the people’s movement and had become a symbol for freedom.

Government / International

13. Reports suggest that Ahmadinejad has assumed the responsibilities of the Minister of Intelligence after he sacked Ejaie from the post. This can only be partially confirmed at this point. There are other reports suggesting that he has appointed another high-ranking official at the Ministry as the “caretaker”.

14. Congressman Ted Poe, R-Texas, on Monday praised the women of Iran for their bravery in pursuit of their rights and freedoms. He mentioned Shadi Sadr and the fact she had been arrested. Video: YouTube – Congressman Poe Impressed By The Women Of Iran

15. Iranian MP Ali Motaheri today criticized the government’s decision to close just one detention center. He said the closing of only one detention center didn’t mean that there were not other places where people were deprived of their liberty and tortured.

16. Reports suggest that Ahmadinejad is losing support in parliament. At least two parliament members have reportedly suggested in recent days that Ahmadinejad’s government could face a vote of no confidence. However, this remains only partially confirmed. Ahmadinejad is also still under pressure by some conservatives for keeping Esfandiar Mashaie as his Chief of Staff.

17. MP Hamid Reza Katouzian of Tehran today criticized Ahmadinejad harshly over his continued support for Mashaie. He also accused Ahmadinejad of not being loyal to the Supreme Leader. Also on Tuesday, conservative MP Gholamreza Mesbahi-Moghaddam expressed support for Rafsanjani and said that most of the detainees should be released since they were simply young and excited youngsters.

Arrested / Released / Killed

18. After the order by Shahrodi which stipulated a speedy release for detained protesters with minor offences, Ali Larijani – the head of the Iranian parliament – announced today that a special committee would be reviewing the situation from the beginning of the tension. The three member committee will meet with prisoners and write a detailed report about their status, rights and the interrogations they’ve gone through. The committee would also gather complaints from people who’ve been beaten or have suffered financial loss during the unrest.

19. Saeed Hajjarian is reportedly being released today. He is in failing health and human rights organizations have repeatedly warned that if not released, he could die in detention.

20. More deaths during the protests have been confirmed.

– Hossein Akhtar-Zand, 32, was killed by Basijis in Isfahan on June 15th.
It has been alleged that he was thrown from a building. I have seen pictures of his body. I am not going to post the link as they are too graphic.

– Saeed Abbasi was killed on June 20 after being shot in the head on Rodaki Ave.-

– Sajjad Qayed Rahmati, was killed on June 21 by IRG members near Navab Metro Station.

– Davood Sadri, 25, was killed on June 15 after being shot by Basijis from the rooftop of their headquarters at Moghdad near Jinnah Avenue in Tehran.

– Amir Javadi Langroodi has also died after suffering days of torture at Evin.

– A 16 year old detainee was brutally beaten in front of more than 200 other detainees at Kahrizak and died on the spot.

– Hossein Akbari was killed by security forces in the first week of unrests. He had gone missing, but his family didn’t know of his death for almost a month. His body was given to his family on July 22 and he was buried four days later.

– Mansour Ghoujazadeh, a resident of Khoy, was beaten so badly during a protest that he couldn’t survive his injuries. He was quietly buried after his family was threatened by security forces.
(But they aren’t just names, they have faces too: Faces of the Iranians killed and Arrested)

21. Reports today confirmed the detention center, ordered to be shut down by Khamenei, is Kahrizak Detention Center located south of Tehran. Horrendous reports of torture and abuse are surfacing about the facility.

– One detainee reportedly suffered so much trauma to the head at Kahrizak that he went blind and died in detention.

– Detainees are forced to strip, then, electric cables are used to lash them for hours ripping into their bodies and inflicting terrible damage.

– Other detainees are crammed into small cells where many have contracted infectious diseases.

– Tehran’s Police Chief, Ibrahim Reza Radan has personally beaten and tortured detainees on his visits to the facility. His weapon of choice was reportedly a plastic hose.

22. Reports from other detention facilities describe incidents like these:

– A female detainee was supposedly forced to sign a confession to admit she had not been mistreated while in detention. She was repeatedly beaten, harassed by male interrogators, her hair was pulled and male interrogators repeatedly touched her body inappropriately to force her to confess.

– One detainee was forced to lick the commode of the detention facility’s toilet and guards forced his head down to the ground with their boots. He was also repeatedly beaten with batons.

– Guards who would refuse to subjugate prisoners to such torture were reprimanded. One guard was detained and tortured after he refused to torture a detainee.

– One Iranian expatriate, who had been detained after returning from London, was beaten so badly and harassed that he has become mentally unstable. After his release, his family has been forced to restrain him so he does not attempt to commit suicide.

(The committee formed by the parliament to investigate the cases of detainees most probably will not be visiting Kahrizak as it has already been closed. For accounts of what happened at Kahrizak, visit this link: كودن با استعداد: The Holocaust denier is casting his own version)

23. The number of protesters who have been killed in detention or on the streets has climbed to 78. According to multiple sources this number is much higher. Here is an updated list of the dead and detained Leaving Facebook… | Facebook.

24. The government is continuing to charge people money for returning the bodies of their loved ones. They are also being forced to sign papers that absolve the government of the blame for the victim’s death. Unless these two conditions are met, bodies are not returned.

25. Reports suggest that in the past two days, at least 140 prisoners were freed from Evin and other prisons. They include Mohammad Tavsoli who had been in detention for the past 43 days. Aida Mesbahi was also released today. The government has announced that the remaining detainees – which according to it number in less than 200 – have committed major crimes such as damaging property or providing weapons to other protesters that were used in violence.

26. Ali Maghami – a member of Karoubi’s campaign HQ – was arrested yesterday.

27. Unconfirmed reports indicate that two political prisoners were hung in Zahedan, Sistan o Baluchestan province. The prisoners were primarily persecuted because they belong to the Sunni branch of Islam which is a minority in Shia-majority Iran. There is still no news on the fate of seven detained members of the Baha’i faith.

Media

28. Javan Daily has accused the Association of Anonymous Addicts of also having a hand in the current turmoil. (Next, it will be the Pope!)

29. Khanaye Moseeqi (House of Music), an organization of Iranian musicians, has released a letter defending Saeed Shajarian. He has been repeatedly insulted by the government owned media after he asked them to stop broadcasting his patriotic songs.

Miscellaneous

30. Francesco Totti, top Italian footballer, sent a message in Farsi to Iranian youth fighting or their freedom:
YouTube – Top striker Francesco Totti sends…

Note: I thought about cutting down the number of GBs to less than 7 a week. But honestly, so much happens every day that I find it difficult to keep the GBs as brief as they should be. So until further notice, one a day will be the norm.

*Discuss/Annotate: http://aic.openmsl.net/wiki/index.php/Green_Brief_42 ; Create it if it doesn’t exist.

**If you wanna republish the Green Brief, please visit this page: For Bloggers, News Sites and Forum who want to republish the Green Brief Plesae Read! – Why We Protest – IRAN

***For Radio Broadcasters: Green Brief Pronounciation Guide – Why We Protest – IRAN

****(A list of all the Green Briefs: The Green Briefs

*****A hearty thanks to Sahar joon and S joon for helping me out with proof-reading and very valuable tips. Also, a BIG THANKS to all the translators who’re spending their precious time on getting this to as many people as possible.

Read this if you want to help or get help!

Helpers:

A. You can retweet this link and help others know what is going on in Iran.

B. Iranmapping: iranmap.whyweprotest.net ; If you would like to help out with compiling all the news stories from Iran in a geo-spatial context for Iranmapping, please follow the instruction over at IranMapping – Anonymous Intelligence Collective

C. The government in Iran is still increasing internet filtering and throttling in an attempt to silence their people. Anonymous info shows that many in Iran are looking for proxy and Tor information in Tehran and all around the country. Please donate your bandwidth to help bring down the Iran Curtain. Here are links on how to help and get help on this:

English:

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor and the Iranian Election – Bring down the Iran Curtain | Ian’s Brain

Farsi:

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor: آنلاين Tor

Get video torrents and help on Tor here:

Gonzo Times � Torrents List (82 videos)

The Green Brief #40-41 (July 26-27)

I’m NiteOwl AKA Josh Shahryar – twitter.com/iran_translator on twitter. I’m a journalist and a human rights activist and NOT Iranian. This is a compilation of news from Iran that I’ve gathered through twitter and Iranian sites that were advertised on twitter. Remember, this is all from tweets. (My work is released under Creative Commons (CC).)

These are the important happenings that I can positively confirm from Sunday/Monday, July 26/27. (Some reports maybe from the 28th as well)

Protests / Unrest

1. There are reports that a small gathering of people chanting against the government was held on Tuesday held in retaliation of the government’s decision to ban Mohsen Rohulamini’s funeral ceremony from being public. I can only partially confirm this at this point.

2. Plans are underway to hold a day of silence around the world to commemorate the 40th day of Neda’s death (I’m not sure if this has a lot of backing, but here’s the link: Example Tweets for Thursday 3…). Protests are planned in Iran on that day as well.

3. Basijis are apparently wearing jeans and shaving their beards in order to infiltrate the ranks of protesters.

Opposition

4. Mousavi urged the government to not interfere with the mourning gathering to commemorate Neda’s death. He said he hadn’t planned a speech and only Koran will be recited during the mourning. He, however, declared that the Green Movement will continue. The gathering will be held at Grand Mosala. He added, “How can it be that the leaders of our country do not cry out and shed tears about these tragedies?”

5. Two days ago, Hashemi Rafsanjani stated in a meeting with faculty members of a university in Tehran denied there was a power struggle in the nation. But, in order to resolve the current situation, he said that he still stood by his comments made during his Friday sermon.

6. Ayatollah Montazeri has released a statement that expresses concern over the current state of affairs. He also applauded the efforts made by various people to resolve the current state of turmoil. It has been also confirmed that Ayatollah Montazeri has met with Ayatollah Mousavi Ardabeli and Ayatollah Shabiri Zanjani.

7. Partially confirmed reports suggest that Ayatollah Saneie has announced his intention of attending the mourning rallies of the 40th day of Neda’s death. On Sunday, he also criticized the government’s wide-spread clamp downs on peaceful protesters and called on it to release all detainees. In a letter to Mousavi, Khatami and Karroubi, he also said that the path to attaining peoples’ rights must continue without violence or bloodshed. Ayatollah Mousavi Ardabeli also joined his call for the release of all prisoners and asked the government to halt cruelty against peaceful protesters. It is worth noting that both Ayatollahs’ statements come as a response to a letter sent to Iranian Ayatollahs by the reformist leaders, asking for their support.

8. Ayatollah Hassan Zarandi – a member of the Assembly of Experts, representing Kermanshah – has written a letter, supporting Rafsanjani’s Friday sermon.

9. Reformist MP Alikhani has criticized the government’s decision to continue using Russian-made airplanes. He accused the government of treating the lives of Iran’s citizens as worthless.

Government / International

10. It has now been confirmed that the resignation letter of the Minister of Culture has been rejected by Ahmadinejad. So far, only the Minister of Intelligence has been sacked. Reports of the sacking of two other ministers could not be confirmed.

11. It has been confirmed that sacked Intelligence Minister Ejaie has sent a letter to Khamenei criticizing Ahmadinejad rather harshly.

12. Although it had been reported that Ahmadinejad’s inauguration would be held on August 2, new reports suggest that it might have been changed to August 5 and still others claim August 4 to be the day. For now, August 2 seems to remain in effect.

13. MP Hamid Reza Katouzian has stated that Mohsen Rohulamini’s only fault was to Ahmadinejad and called the killing of dissidents by the government ugly and shameful. This is while another MP Ali Motaher – who has sided with reformists in the past weeks – asked Iran’s judiciary to give up the name of Mohsen’s killer.

14. Mohsen Rezaie has thanked judiciary chief Ayatollah Hashemi-Shahroudi for ordering a quick review of the cases of the detainees of the post-vote unrest in Iran.

15. It has been confirmed that besides Intelligence Minister Ejaie, as many as 20 high-ranking officials from that ministry have been sacked. Reports suggest that Ahmadinejad has sacked these officials for their failure to provide concrete evidence that attempts at staging a ‘velvet revolution’ were being made in Iran by foreign powers.

16. As reported in the Green Brief two weeks ago, several prominent Shi’ite clerics are going to make a decision about leaving Iran and settling in Najaf, Iraq. It is expected that the final decision will be made within days.

17. In a meeting held by a committee set up by the reformist camp to investigate the fate of detainees, Ali Larijani – the head of Iran’s Parliament – has asked them to continue their investigation. He has also asked for the release of those detainees who have not committed serious crimes. However, he reiterated that government’s official policy of blaming foreign media outlets for the current unrest in Iran.

Arrests / Released / Killed

18. It has been confirmed that Khamenei has ordered the closure of a single detention center because detainees were being ill-treated there and Iranian laws were broken. Khamenei’s spokesperson – while announcing the Supreme Leader’s decision – said that this had been done to ensure that detainees remain safe from cruelty while in detention. We cannot confirm which prison it is at the moment; however, it seems Khamenei must not be aware of what’s happening at Evin…

19. Famous Iranian actress Pegah Ahangarani has been detained. Partially confirmed reports suggest that prominent feminist, lawyer and human rights activist Shadi Sadr has been released.

20. The spokesperson for Iran’s Judiciary has announced that Shahrodi – the director of the Judiciary – ordered that within a week the fate of all prisoners detained after protests started must be determined. He said that some will be released very soon because they might not have committed any serious crimes, but claimed that only 300 remained behind bars. It has also been confirmed that 7 members of parliament went to visit Evin and Rajayi prison to assess the condition of detainees on Monday.

21. The director of Mazandaran province’s detention facilities has told a human rights organization that the provincial prison at Sari held a thousand prisoners – four times more than it could actually hold. He also claimed that up to 60 people were being held at cells designed for 12.

22. Ramin Qahremani – a protester detained for two weeks – has died only two days after being released because of internal and external injuries. He had been extensively tortured and was reportedly hung upside down for extended periods of time while in detention.

23. Faizullah Arab-Sorkhi, Saeed Hajjarian, Behzad Nabavi and Mostafa Tajzadeh, who are all reformists politicians currently in jail and in bad health, have been moved to IRG Hospital #66. It has been reported that they will be questioned by a special team from now on that is being headed by a representative of the Supreme Leader.

24. In more tragic news, the family of a protester who went to a rally in Rasht was recently notified to pick up his body by the authorities of the city. The protester’s brother was asked upon arrival by the authorities to sign a statement, saying that the protester had died because he was suffering from a terminal illness. When he refused, the protester body was not returned.

25. As chants of Allah o Akbar continue throughout the night, security forces are actively hunting people who are taking part in this form of protest. Reportedly, people are being fined hundreds of dollars if caught in the act.

Media

26. Reformist newspaper Sadaye Adalat’s permit has been cancelled by the government.

27. Several state-owned media outlets, mainly Ansar News, IRIB, PressTV and Keyhan have recently started to criticize Ahmadinejad rather harshly. The spate of criticisms started after Ahmadinejad’s appointment of Mashaie as his vice president and the six-day long battle between Ahmadinejad and conservatives to remove him.

(I don’t particularly like Fareed Zakariya but this is just brilliant!

)

*Discuss/Annotate: http://aic.openmsl.net/wiki/index.php/Green_Brief_41 ; Create it if it doesn’t exist.

**If you wanna republish the Green Brief, please visit this page: For Bloggers, News Sites and Forum who want to republish the Green Brief Plesae Read! – Why We Protest – IRAN

***For Radio Broadcasters: Green Brief Pronounciation Guide – Why We Protest – IRAN

****(A list of all the Green Briefs: The Green Briefs

*****A hearty thanks to Sahar joon for helping me out with proof-reading and very valuable tips. Also, a BIG THANKS to all the translators who’re spending their precious time on getting this to as many people as possible.

Read this if you want to help or get help!

Helpers:

A. You can retweet this link and help others know what is going on in Iran.

B. Discuss/Annotate: Green Brief 38 – Anonymous Intelligence Collective

C. Iranmapping: iranmap.whyweprotest.net ; If you would like to help out with compiling all the news stories from Iran in a geo-spatial context for Iranmapping, please follow the instruction over at IranMapping – Anonymous Intelligence Collective

D. The government in Iran is still increasing internet filtering and throttling in an attempt to silence their people. Anonymous info shows that many in Iran are looking for proxy and Tor information in Tehran and all around the country. Please donate your bandwidth to help bring down the Iran Curtain. Here are links on how to help and get help on this:

English:

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor and the Iranian Election – Bring down the Iran Curtain | Ian’s Brain

Farsi:

Tor Browser Bundle

http://tinyurl.com/m6k3a9

Get video torrents and help on Tor here:

Gonzo Times � Torrents List (82 videos)

Green Brief #39 (July 25)

I’m NiteOwl AKA Josh Shahryar – twitter.com/iran_translator on twitter. I’m a journalist and a human rights activist and NOT Iranian. This is a compilation of news from Iran that I’ve gathered through twitter and Iranian sites that were advertised on twitter. Remember, this is all from tweets. (My work is released under Creative Commons (CC).)

These are the important happenings that I can positively confirm from Saturday, July 25 .

Protests / Unrest

1. The most wide-spread protests in the history of humanity were held today in support of Iranian’s rights. (Not in terms of numbers, but in terms of how many and where they were held.) Thousands of people took part in more than 100 cities across the globe. As words cannot describe this event, you are welcome to see a slideshow of the event: United4Iran’s Photostream

For the mammoth Green Scroll in Paris, click here: YouTube – Green Scroll in Paris – Ey Iran – Paris, Mur de la Paix, 25 Juillet 2009

One Green Brief team member reports that during Green Day’s concert in New York, pictures of Iran’s Green Movement were repeatedly shown in the background. Here’s a link to a picture, courtesy PocketDiplomat: Solidarity for Iran during Green Day Concert � Pocket Diplomat

(Several friends and team members of the Green Brief wrote letters about their experiences during the protests – I’m thankful for everyone’s participation. I personally took part in a protest and met with some members of the Baha’i community as well)

2. The protesters in Dubai, however, were told by the government to stop. When they didn’t comply, they were forcibly dispersed by the police. It has been partially confirmed that at least one protester was detained.

3. Hundreds of Iranians rallied in Vanak and Azadi Squares and many other parts of the Tehran today. Protesters chanted anti-government slogans and asked for the release of detained protesters. In the scorching heat, people were served with green soft drinks. Protesters were attacked by plainclothesmen and anti-riot police and several many were severely beaten at Vanak and Azadi. Many others were arrested. The families of detained protesters held a gathering in front of Evin Prison again.

4. Mousavi’s camp has reportedly requested the government to issue a permit to hold a mourning ceremony for the slain on Thursday which coincides with the 40th day of Neda’s death.

5. Protesters have now started to write Ahmadinejad’s name on garbage bags.

Opposition

6. Iran’s PressTV reports: “A Tehran court has found Iranian Minister of Industries and Mines Ali-Akbar Mehrabian guilty of fraud after he registered someone else’s invention in his own name.
The verdict came after plaintiff Farzad Salimi filed a complaint against former municipality officials Mehrabian and Mousa Mazloum over the dishonest registration of an invention dubbed “Safe Room for Earthquakes” in their names.”

7. Ayatollah Mousavi Ardabeli has issued another statement asking the government to release all detainees that have not broken the law. He claimed that the government was losing people’s trust because of the detentions.

8. Ayatollah Ali Mohammad Dastegheyb has issued a statement condemning a letter released in the name of members of the Assembly of Experts that criticizes Rafsanjani. He asked them to immediately renounce the letter and apologize to Rafsanjani.

9. Ayatollah Zanjani has reportedly issued a fatwa calling for a boycott of Ahmadinejad’s inauguration.

10. Leaders of the reformist camps have written a letter to Grand Ayatollahs of Iran to break their silence over the election and the post-election events. Mousavi, Khatami and Karroubi – the principle signatories – asked the Ayatollahs to stop the government from breaking the law and committing atrocities against the people of Iran.

11. In a separate statement released today, Karroubi condemned the wide-spread beatings of women during protests. He accused the security forces of specifically targeting women. Later during a meeting with members of his party, he said that they needed to become firmer in response to the deteriorating situation. He also announced a restricting of the party shortly.

12. It has been confirmed that even though Ayatollah Vaez Tabasi – the most eminent cleric in Mashhad – didn’t greet or meet Ahmadinejad during his visit to that city, he had actually come to the airport to receive Rafsanjani when he visited the city last week.

13. Mohammad Reza Naseri Shohan – a high-ranking member of Etemaade Melli Party in Ilam province – was summoned to appear in court by the judiciary.

Government / International

14. After his appointment as Ahmadinejad’s senior Vice President was revoked, Mashaie has now been appointed as Ahmadinejad’s Chief of Staff and senior advisor.

15. Even though it was earlier reported that the Ministers of Intelligence, Health, Labor and Culture had all been sacked, we can only confirm the sacking of the Minister of Intelligence Mohseni Ejaie at this point. Reports suggest the he may have been sacked because he was partly opposed to detainees’ confessions being broadcasted on IRIB.

16. Partially confirmed reports also suggest that the commander of the Basij, Hossein Taleb is going to be appointed as Ejaie’s replacement in Ahmadinejad’s new cabinet. Taleb has been accused of being the mastermind behind torturing detainees and obtaining confessions from them.

17. Sayed Ali Jafari – the Commander of IRG – has yet again accused reformists of attempting to stage a velvet revolution. He claimed that greatest dangers to stability in Iran came from elements inside the country.

Arrested / Released / Killed

18. Mohsen Rohul-Amini’s father today said that Mohsen had died after being tortured profusely. According to Mohsen’s dad, his jaw had been broken and after bleeding for days, he’d developed meningitis and died as a result.

19. Amir Javadifar – a protester who was detained – has died at Evin. It cannot be confirmed yet whether he died under torture. Family has been told to collect his body on Sunday. He was 24 and a student of Qazvin’s Azad University. It has been reported – but not confirmed – that another detainee Mojtaba Samenezhad has died under torture at Evin.

20. Prisons in Iran have become a hotbed for infectious diseases as the number of detainees soars. The Ministry of health has reported in the past few days, at least 2,000 shots have been sent to prisons across Iran. At least two prisoners have so far died of meningitis in detention. Families of protesters who have died or have been badly injured after torture at Evin are only granted custody of their loved ones or their bodies if they promise to not lodge a complaint against the prison.

21. A number of intellectuals including Fariborz Rayis Dana arrested as they attended a gathering to commemorate the anniversary of Iranian poet Ahmad Shamloo’s birth.

22. The staff at Evin Prison told families of detainees today that the names of none of the detainees they were seeking information about were in the prison’s computerized database.

23. We had reportedly earlier that some detainees were being kept at a make-shift detention center that used to serve as a drug rehabilitation center. Reports now suggest that deep holes have been ground inside the building’s main yard and prisoners are lowered and kept in the holes for days at a time without food or water.

24. Detained reformist Saeed Hajjarian is reportedly

25. Detained journalists, Masood Bastani and Mahsa Amrabadi were allowed to meet each other briefly today. Mahsa is heavily pregnant.

*One blogger made some pictures of how Iranian banknotes might look like when the Green Movement succeeds. (That’s right, WHEN, not IF.)

**(Apologies for the lateness and briefness of the brief. My commitment to this cause has NOT and WILL NOT change. But as everyone kept telling me to take a break, I have decied to spend some time with a friend to cool off a little bit. kudos to her and thank you all for your vigorous support!)

*Discuss/Annotate: Green Brief 38 – Anonymous Intelligence Collective ; Create it if it doesn’t exist.

**If you wanna republish the Green Brief, please visit this page: For Bloggers, News Sites and Forum who want to republish the Green Brief Plesae Read! – Why We Protest – IRAN

***For Radio Broadcasters: Green Brief Pronounciation Guide – Why We Protest – IRAN

****(A list of all the Green Briefs: The Green Briefs

*****A hearty thanks to Sahar joon for helping me out with proof-reading and very valuable tips. Also, a BIG THANKS to all the translators who’re spending their precious time on getting this to as many people as possible.

Read this if you want to help or get help!

Helpers:

A. You can retweet this link and help others know what is going on in Iran.

B. Discuss/Annotate: Green Brief 39 – Anonymous Intelligence Collective

C. Iranmapping: iranmap.whyweprotest.net ; If you would like to help out with compiling all the news stories from Iran in a geo-spatial context for Iranmapping, please follow the instruction over at IranMapping – Anonymous Intelligence Collective

D. The government in Iran is still increasing internet filtering and throttling in an attempt to silence their people. Please donate your bandwidth to help bring down the Iran Curtain. Here are links on how to help and get help on this:

English:

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor and the Iranian Election – Bring down the Iran Curtain | Ian’s Brain

Farsi:

Tor Browser Bundle

http://tinyurl.com/m6k3a9

The Green Brief #37 (July 23)

I’m NiteOwl AKA Josh Shahryar – twitter.com/iran_translator on twitter. I’m a journalist and a human rights activist and NOT Iranian. This is a compilation of news from Iran that I’ve gathered through twitter and Iranian sites that were advertised on twitter. Remember, this is all from tweets. (My work is released under Creative Commons (CC).)

These are the important happenings that I can positively confirm from Thursday, July 23 .

In German: http://tinyurl.com/ld63l5

In Hebrew: http://tinyurl.com/mnyuvq

In Italian: http://tinyurl.com/ktc5bo

In Polish: http://glosiranu.blog.pl/archiwum/in…p?nid=14413966

In Russian: http://tinyurl.com/ljbs3j

Protests / Unrest

1. Dozens of Iranian-Armenians and Iranians protested in front of Caspian Airline’s office in Tehran today. A journalist covering the protests was arrested, but later freed. The protesters demanded to know why a Caspian Airline’s flight from Tehran to Yerevan, Armenia crashed near Qazvin more than a week ago. Security forces dispersed the protesters. Iranian Government Officials have said that it will take another 2 months to complete their investigation.

2. The hunger strike in front of the UN building in New York continued today, despite the pouring rain. Protesters sang songs from the revolution of 1979 and demanded that Iranian rights be safeguarded. Protesters declared their opposition to any military action against Iran. See pictures below – compliments of Mehdi Saharkhiz: onlymehdi, People singing so many ppl even in the rain

3. The citizens of Tehran have planned a protest for this Saturday. Details of the protest will be provided after it has transpired. People continued to chant “Allah-o-Akbar” last night in Tehran. Others walked the streets chanting “Death to the Dictator,” and “Allah-o-Akbar.”

Opposition

4. In a statement released today, Mousavi said, “We will not stop until the last detainee has been released by the government.” Mousavi’s wife, Zahra Rahnavard, stated, “The government can fabricate as many lies as it wants to, but the people of Iran will never believe any of the allegations against my detained brother.” She added, “My brother is only one amongst many other Iranian brothers and sisters who have been imprisoned – this is why I have not given his name to the media.” Lastly, she indicated that she will fight for her brother’s freedom.

5. Hossein Khomeini – a grandson of Imam Khomeini – has told the BBC in an interview that an Islamic Government had no legal basis in Islam unless the prophet or one of the 12 Imams was leading it. Hence, hinting that the current regime had no legal basis in Islam.

He also added that the current constitution and government could not be changed until a post for a spiritual leader as the country’s Supreme Leader existed, adding that spiritual leadership was for the prophet and the 12 Imams – 11 of which are dead and one is believed to be in hiding for more than a millennium. He condemned the government’s killing of peaceful protesters and of the indiscriminate arrests.

Government / International

6. It has been confirmed that Mohammad Yazdi – Secretary of the Assembly of Experts – has written a letter condemning Rafsanjani’s speech during Friday Prayers. Yazdi has asked him to revoke his stance. Although the letter is being circulated in the name of the entire Assembly, reports indicate that only a quarter of the members have signed it – another quarter has declined to do so.

7. IRIB has published Ahmadinejad’s letters of appointment for several of his new staff members. The list includes:

1: Asfandyar Rahim Mashaie as 1st Vice President
2: Mehrdad Bazrpash as Director of the National Youth Organization
3: Parvez Davoodi as 1st Advisor to the President
4: Sayed Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi as 1st Assistant to the President
5: Ali Akbar Salehi as Director of the National Atomic Energy Agency
6: Mohammad Javad Hajali Akbari as Presidential Advisor on Youth Affairs
7: Masood Zaribafan as Director of Martyrs Foundation and Veterans Affairs
8: Hamid Baghaie as Director of the Office of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts

8. The Minister of Communication announced that SMS services will be reactivated step-by-step. SMS services have been essentially suspended in Iran for more than a month. Protesters were thought to rely on SMS services for coordinating their protests.

9. Ahmad Khatami – a member of the Assembly of Experts Leadership Council and hard-line cleric – announced today that, “Ahmadinejad will prove his loyalty to Khamenei by quickly removing Mashaie from his post as VP.” Khamenei has already shown his express desire for Mashaie’s removal.

10. In a statement released today, Ayatollah Dastegheyb yet again praised Rafsanjani’s Friday Sermon and asked the government to listen to Mousavi, Karroubi and Rezaie’s demands. He called for unity among Iranians. He added, “Foreigners are never going to be Iran’s friend- unity among Iranians is the only solution to Iran’s problems.”

11. On the other spectrum, Ayatollah Ali Akbar Gharshi also released a written statement that was sent to government officials and opposition leaders criticizing Rafsanjani’s Friday Sermon. Gharshi – who is a representative for Western Azerbaijan Province in the Assembly of Experts (which Rafsanjani heads) – told Rafsanjani, “It caused me much pain and distress to see that you were unable to keep yourself away from the turmoil on the streets.” He asked Rafsanjani to stop before his “achievements and bright past” go to waste.

12. Ayatollah Abolghasem Khazali has also criticized Rafsanjani’s Sermon and said that the elections had been a marvelous event. He hinted that prisoners should not be released because they had been implicated in violence. It is worth mentioning that Ayatollah Khazali’s son was detained during the protests and has now been freed on bail.

13. In an interview with the BBC, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, “The internal debates going on inside Iran have made it difficult, if not impossible, for them to pursue any diplomatic engagement, not just with us but anyone, like the P5+1 [permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany]. There is so much that is on hold.”

14. Sweden – which heads the rotating presidency of the EU for six months – has asked the Iranian Government to promptly release Clotilde Reiss, a French citizen who has been imprisoned at Evin Prison for weeks.

Arrested / Released / Killed

15. Saeed Shojaiezadeh and Khosro Mousvivand – students at Ahvaz’s Naft University – were detained yesterday. The father of martyred protester, Masood Hashemzadeh has been detained from his house by plainclothesmen. His house was searched and many items belonging to Masood were confiscated. Masood died during protests on June 21st on Shademan Ave, north of Azadi Street.

16. More people have been detained during the past few days including: Ahmad Bahri – the founder of Mahabad Monthly who was arrested in Mahabad, Jafar Agha-Mohammadi – an activist from Maghan who was arrested in Maghan. Ramin Sultankhwah, Saeed Kashani, Zafar Mogheemi, Saeed Shamsaie and Abbas Zareh-Haqeeqi were arrested in Gonabad.

17. More reports indicate that missing protester, Alireza Eftekhari, was actually killed during protests. Mohsen Rohulamini – the son of the former Director of Pasteur Institute in Tehran – who was feared to be in detention, has now also been confirmed to have died during the protests. Fahimeh Solahshoor – another protester – is confirmed to have died at a hospital after sustaining head injuries during protests on June 14th. Finally, Maisam Ebadi – a 17 year old protester – has also been confirmed to have died on June 13th.

18. The son of Isa Saharkhiz, Mehdi Saharkhiz, has reported that his father called home from Evin Prison. According to Mehdi, his father is currently being held in solitary confinement. Mehdi said that his father reported of having several broken ribs. He did not reveal if he had been tortured or not.

19. Partially-confirmed reports indicate that many detainees are now being held in a building that was previously used as a drug rehabilitation center in Shorabad (close to Beheshte Zahra Cemetery in Tehran). According to the reports, Evin Prison is now full to capacity and only important prisoners are being kept there. The rest of the “street protesters” are being moved to temporary holding spots.

20. It has been confirmed that Khamenei has plans to pardon and/or reduce the sentences of many detainees in order to foster reconciliation.

21. The mothers of Sohrab A’rabi and Ashkan Sohrabi went to meet Neda Agha-Soltan’s mother today. Many other feminists and women’s rights activists accompanied them.

22. An Iranian photographer, Ali Zareh, who was detained and released after 40 hours in detention by the security forces has released a Youtube video chronicling his arrest, detention and torture. In the video, Zareh confirms that two of the men responsible for his arrests were Lebanese. The Green Brief has repeatedly confirmed the presence of foreigners amongst the ranks of Iranian Security Forces. This is the first solid confirmation. Here’s a link to the video: YouTube – Ali Zare, photographer, talks about his detention in Iran

Media

23. Ayatollah Nasser Makarem-Shirazi today criticized IRIB for using what he called ‘aggressive’ and ‘unfriendly’ language against the opposition and asked for compassion and friendship.

*Discuss/Annotate: http://aic.openmsl.net/wiki/index.php/Green_Brief_37 ; Create it if it doesn’t exist.

**If you wana republish the Green Brief, please visit this page: For Bloggers, News Sites and Forum who want to republish the Green Brief Plesae Read! – Why We Protest – IRAN

***For Radio Broadcasters: Green Brief Pronounciation Guide – Why We Protest – IRAN

****(A list of all the Green Briefs: http://ded1.hybrid-optix.com/greenbriefs.html]The Green Briefs

*****A hearty thanks to Sahar joon for helping me out with proof-reading and very valuable tips. Also, a BIG THANKS to all the translators who’re spending their precious time on getting this to as many people as possible.

Read this if you want to help or get help!

Helpers:

A. You can retweet this link and help others know what is going on in Iran.

B. Discuss/Annotate: Green Brief 37 – Anonymous Intelligence Collective

C. Iranmapping: iranmap.whyweprotest.net ; If you would like to help out with compiling all the news stories from Iran in a geo-spatial context for Iranmapping, please follow the instruction over at IranMapping – Anonymous Intelligence Collective

D. The government in Iran is still increasing internet filtering and throttling in an attempt to silence their people. Anonymous info shows that many in Iran are looking for proxy and Tor information in Tehran and all around the country. Please donate your bandwidth to help bring down the Iran Curtain. Here are links on how to help and get help on this:

English:

http://torir.org

http://torir.brokep.com

http://img1.anonbw.com

http://tinyurl.com/lexowb

Farsi:

http://torir.org/index.html.fa

http://tinyurl.com/m6k3a9

The Green Brief #36 (July 22)

I’m NiteOwl AKA Josh Shahryar – twitter.com/iran_translator on twitter. I’m a journalist and a human rights activist and NOT Iranian. This is a compilation of news from Iran that I’ve gathered through twitter and Iranian sites that were advertised on twitter. Remember, this is all from tweets. (My work is released under Creative Commons (CC).)

These are the important happenings that I can positively confirm from Wednesday, July 22 .

In Polish: http://glosiranu.blog.pl/archiwum/in…p?nid=14412443

In German: http://tinyurl.com/mb2aae

In Spanish: http://tinyurl.com/n7a4wp

In Swedish: http://tinyurl.com/n5k97p

Protests / Unrest

1. Dozens of people gathered nearby Sohrab A’rabi’s house in Tehran tonight. They chanted “Death to Dictator” and demanded freedom for the Iranian people. A’rabi is among those killed during the aftermath of the elections by the Iranian government.

2. Families of detainees again rallied in front of Evin Prison. Dozens assembled to ask for the release of their loved ones. Others demanded to know the whereabouts of their missing family members. The whereabouts of large numbers of Iranian protesters detained are unknown and the government refuses to provide information about them.

3. The planned hunger strike in support of the Green Movement commenced in front of the United Nations building in New York today. Akbar Ganji is one of the organizers of the event. Participants include Gogoosh -Iran’s most famous Pop Diva, and Shohreh Aghashedlo- an Academy Award-nominated Iranian actress. It is worth mentioning that many other prominent Iranians and non-Iranians were present as well. The strike is planned to last until July 25th. Here’s BBC’s page on the strike with a video: http://tinyurl.com/nsbqyx

Opposition

4. Mir Hossein Mousavi met with university professors and reporters in Tehran, where he criticized the government and said, “They can’t even tolerate the presence of people like Rafsanjani today.” He went on to say, “People should continue their quest to ensure that their demands are met in a civil manner.” He again asserted the election results as fraudulent, and said that, “A government that does not have legitimacy would only increase internal and external problems for Iran.” Mousavi went on to say, “People have the key to resolve the question” and “I do not recognize Ahmadinejad’s Government.” He stated, “We all witnessed the power of the people as they gathered under the same banner – regardless of their affiliations.” Mousavi affirmed his intent of creating a new political front – one that would include several well-known politicians. The new front’s main objective will be to achieve the demands of the Iranian people, and that it would be unveiled next week.

5. In a separate two-hour meeting with reporters and other media personalities, Mir Hossein Mousavi discussed the current situation in Iran. He called for the immediate release of detainees and asked the government to ensure press freedom and to lift the media censorship.

6. Abdollah Nouri – another reformist who has joined the Green Movement – said that in the mid 70s, “No one thought that the Shah would be overthrown one day and that he would be forced to flee the country.”

7. Ayatollah Sayed Ali Mohammad Dasteghaib – an eminent cleric from Shiraz – has announced his support for Rafsanjani’s sermon. He is now backing Mousavi and Karroubi and asked other clerics to join the growing support for the reformists. He stated, “Clerics should NOT be divided on an issue that has so much mass support amongst its people.” During the past month, several Ayatollahs have made their position well-known. For a full listing of Ayatollahs and their positions, please visit Tehran Bureau’s website (I can attest to most of its authenticity): http://tehranbureau.com/ayatollah-watch/

8. Ayatollah Bayat Zanjani – in response to a question from one of his followers – said, “The appointment of someone to a leadership position who’s gained it through fraud is illegitimate.” He added, “However, people need to have evidence and need to be certain that such an individual had indeed used illegal means to get to that position for his presidency to be illegitimate.” He acknowledged, “Complaints of other candidates cannot delegitimize a president unless those complaints are found to be accurate.” He clarified, “Only the Presidency would lose its legitimacy; not the Regime nor the people working for the Regime.”

9. Partially-confirmed reports indicate that Ayatollah Wahid Khorasani – another important cleric – warned Sadegh Larejani today that, “He would ruin his afterlife if he accepts the appointment to head Iran’s Judiciary.” Sadegh Larejani is a member of the Guardian Council, and is a staunch conservative being groomed to replace the current head of Judiciary. Larejani had reportedly stated in 2006 that people’s vote didn’t give a government its legitimacy.

10. Hashemi Rafsanjani’s brother – Mohammad Hashemi Rafsanjani – has dismissed claims made by Mojtaba Zounnour (Khamenei’s representative to the Revolutionary Guard) that he had donated more than five million dollars to Mohsen Rezaie’s campaign. Mohammad declared that he did not donate money to any of the candidate’s campaigns. Rezaie’s camp on the other hand, vowed that if Zounnour could not prove his allegations, they would take him to court.

11. Mohsen Rezaie blamed Ahmadinejad’s supporters of attempting to damage his credibility. According to Rezaie’s website, an active campaign primarily instigated by Ahmadinejad’s Party, had begun to discredit him and his achievements.

12. A committee that has been formed to follow the cases of detainees and to provide legal help to their families met with Mahdi Karroubi for the third time today – and asked for his continued support. Karroubi asked the committee to designate lawyers for following the cases of individual detainees as soon as possible. The committee later announced that they will soon be holding meetings with the Parliamentary Commission on National Security and Judicial Affairs as well as Iran’s Attorney General.

13. Mohammad Khatami reiterated his position today and called for a referendum on the government’s legitimacy. He insisted that people needed to make their voices heard. He said, “If this demand is not accepted, all legal channels for people to reach their goals would be closed.” Khatami criticized detractors of claiming that he, Mousavi, and other reformists were working against the regime. He stated, “The referendum is an insurance policy,” and urged the government to hold one as soon as possible.

Government / International

14. Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi has joined the battle over the appointment of Asfandyar Mashaie as one of Ahmadinejad’s Vice Presidents. He called his appointment “absolutely illegitimate.” Khamenei has opposed Mashaie’s appointment, yet Ahmadinejad has refused to back down. Mashaie released a statement today on his official blog, calling himself “a staunch conservative.” He declared that his earlier statement, in which he called “The people of Iran friends of the Israeli people,” was the official government position at the time. It has also been partially-confirmed that during today’s Cabinet meeting, Ahmadinejad had a verbal altercation with Hossein Saffar Harandi -Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance – over Mashaie’s appointment, causing Harandi to leave the meeting.

15. Ahmadinejad signed into law – and issued an order for its implementation –a decree that severely damages freedom of expression in Iran. According to Press TV, the law requires internet service providers to save virtually ALL data that has been sent and received by their clients for a period of three months.

16. Mojtaba Zounnour – Khamenei’s representative to the IRG – declared today, “Protesters armed themselves with pickaxes, shovels, and even purchased tear gas BEFORE the election in order to take part in post-election violence.” He proclaimed that an “underground armed resistance group,” with over 300,000 members, had been formed before the election. He insisted, “This group’s mission was to trigger a revolution against the Islamic Republic – with help from the BBC.” He also confirmed that at least two Basiji Members had been killed by protesters during the violence.

17. UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, announced today that the British Government supported the rights of the Iranian protesters. He called the arrests of British Embassy staff and the expulsion of two British diplomats “unacceptable.” Because of mounting international pressure, all staff members were released. Brown told reporters, “We have to be concerned if individual rights of citizens are being affected.”

18. Reports indicate that 306 conservative clerics of the Qom Seminary Teachers Association have released a statement in support of Ayatollah Yazdi’s dismissal of Rafsanjani’s demands during his Friday Sermon.

19. Swedish Foreign Minister, Carl Bildt, told reporters yesterday, “The legitimacy of Ahmadinejad’s Government was being challenged by the people.” Sweden currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU for six months, so this comes as more of a European position than a Swedish.

Arrested / Released / Killed

20. Three journalists have now been confirmed to have been detained by the government. They include: Sayed Emar Kalantari – the editor-in-chief of Ayandeh website, Hossein Aghaie and Reza Rafi’ee Foroushani. Mohammad Reza Azeemi and Mostafa Sha’bani were also reportedly arrested today. Both men are lawyers who work for Raad – a legal institution that operates in Tehran.

21. Towhid Begi, Karroubi’s campaign photographer, and Mojtaba Tehrani, a photographer working for Etemaade Melli Newspaper, were released today.

22. Reports surfaced yesterday that two people had died and several were injured in clashes with security forces in the city of Orumieh in Western Azerbaijan Province. Based on reports from today, I can now partially-confirm this.

23. Mohseni Ejaie, Iran’s Minister of Intelligence, has recently said that more confessions of detainees will be broadcasted soon on National television.

24. The Revolutionary Road blog has published the names of 65 people who they claimed have died in the unrests, along with many more who have been detained. I cannot confirm the list, but here is the link for your review: http://tinyurl.com/lz6gcg

Scott Lucas, and his team over at Enduring America, has kindly translated all the names to English. If you want to see the list, please check-out their very informative and accurate website: http://tinyurl.com/lu6a6g

**Special Note: This is a personal request. Today, a very disturbing picture was disseminated on Twitter. It contained several dead bodies piled-up against a wall – with the poster claiming that these were the bodies of tortured detainees from Evin Prison. The picture was later discredited as being from Iraq. In the future, if such pictures make their way to you, please make sure it is authentic. Graphic pictures cause extreme pain and trauma to many people who are following and reporting on Twitter. Thank you.

*Discuss/Annotate: http://aic.openmsl.net/wiki/index.php/Green_Brief_36 ; Create it if it doesn’t exist.

**If you wanna republish the Green Brief, please visit this page: http://tinyurl.com/mjxrz3

***For Radio Broadcasters: http://tinyurl.com/nmvxpk

****(A list of all the Green Briefs: http://ded1.hybrid-optix.com/greenbriefs.html]The Green Briefs

*****A hearty thanks to Sahar joon for helping me out with proof-reading and very valuable tips. Also, a BIG THANKS to all the translators who’re spending their precious time on getting this to as many people as possible.

Read this if you want to help or get help!

Helpers:

A. You can retweet this link and help others know what is going on in Iran.

B. Discuss/Annotate: http://aic.openmsl.net/wiki/index.php/Green_Brief_36

C. Iranmapping: iranmap.whyweprotest.net ; If you would like to help out with compiling all the news stories from Iran in a geo-spatial context for Iranmapping, please follow the instruction over at http://aic.openmsl.net/wiki/index.php/IranMapping

D. The government in Iran is still increasing internet filtering and throttling in an attempt to silence their people. Anonymous info shows that many in Iran are looking for proxy and Tor information in Tehran and all around the country. Please donate your bandwidth to help bring down the Iran Curtain. Here are links on how to help and get help on this:

English:

http://torir.org

http://torir.brokep.com

http://img1.anonbw.com

http://tinyurl.com/lexowb

Farsi:

http://torir.org/index.html.fa

http://tinyurl.com/m6k3a9

The Green Brief #35 (July 21)

I’m NiteOwl AKA Josh Shahryar – twitter.com/iran_translator on twitter. I’m a journalist and a human rights activist and NOT Iranian. This is a compilation of news from Iran that I’ve gathered through twitter and Iranian sites that were advertised on twitter. Remember, this is all from tweets. (My work is released under Creative Commons (CC).)

These are the important happenings that I can positively confirm from Tuesday, July 21 . (Apologies for being late today, I babysit on Monday’s and Tuesday and the baby demanded extra attention today.)

In German: http://iran-info-dienst.blogspot.com/

In Italian: http://tinyurl.com/ngyj5p

Protests / Unrest

1. Thousands of people gathered in and around Tehran to commemorate the deaths of several protesters who died a month ago. It was also the anniversary of Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh’s uprising against the former Shah more than half a century ago. The protest today was set forth by the people – it did not have the backing of any of the reformist leaders.

2. Hordes of protesters made their way to 7 Tir Square in Tehran chanting anti-government slogans. Protesters were wearing green armbands and headbands. Crowds gathered at Vanak Square, Valiasr Square, and adjoining areas.

3. The number of women outnumbered the number of men in some areas.
Although exact numbers are hard to obtain, most sources estimate the number of protesters to be around 15,000. Today’s slogans included praise for former President Mohammad Mossadegh – who was overthrown in a coup orchestrated by the CIA in 1953.

4. Thousands of security forces armed with guns, batons and tear gas gathered in many parts of the city. Their presence was mostly jam-packed at 7 Tir Square. Many partially-confirmed reports indicate that several foreigners were spotted among the ranks of the security forces gathered at 7 Tir Square.

5. Police clashed with protesters as the crowd continued to swell – using brutal force to disperse them. Helicopters flew above Central Tehran. IRIB personnel were again positioned on high-rise buildings to take photographs and videos of protesters – to later be used by security forces. Police had also surrounded the IRIB building for protection against protesters. Protesters walked past IRIB with no clashes reported.

6. Women again took the brunt of the beatings as they were not fast enough to escape the attacks from security forces. Many were viciously beaten with batons. The use of tear gas was confirmed – especially at 7 Tir Square. Most of the shops around the city were already closed – protesters had nowhere to take refuge this time. Clashes were also reported from Baharestan Square. Although it has been confirmed that shots were heard from several areas in Tehran, no deaths could be confirmed. No confirmation of protesters suffering from gunshot wounds, either.

7. On a lighter note, many eyewitness accounts reported that some security forces would stop running after protesters and start cursing their superiors. Many complained of fatigue and were seen panting and telling protesters, “To just go and leave us alone.”

8. Reports confirm protests in Oroumieh and Shiraz. There have been accounts of small protests in Tabriz – but none have been confirmed. Cell phone service was cut-off throughout Central Tehran.

9. In Oroumieh, hundreds of people marched peacefully but were attacked by security forces trying to disperse them. Partially-confirmed reports indicate that shots were fired at protesters. No casualties can be confirmed at this point.

10. Hundreds of people marched through Chamran Blvd and Saadi Street in Shiraz, before being attacked by security forces. Protesters were beaten severely with batons. The security presence was so overwhelming, that many claim there were more security forces than protesters. People chanted, “We want goat meat – NOT a goat president!”

11. The citizens of Iran again used electrical blackouts as a means to show their discontent. It was reported that many parts of Tehran, as well as some parts of Karaj and Qazvin experienced blackouts. Reports emerged indicating that Iranian TV did not even display the correct time as a means of confusing people who wanted to synchronize their overuse of electricity.

12. Two original members of the 1999 student protests in Tehran – Ahmad Tabatabie and Hasan Zareh Ardsher – have announced their participation in the upcoming “hunger strike” in front of the UN building in New York. Academy Award-winning actor Sean Penn has also announced his support for the hunger strike. The hunger strike will be held July 22 – 25th.

13. Seventy-two former political prisoners from Iran have announced that they will hold a hunger strike in Berlin to show their solidarity with the Iranian people. The hunger strike will take place July 24th and 25th.

14. Mahdi Karroubi’s supporters are planning a protest that will be held on August 2nd – the same day as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Presidential Inauguration. The location has not been disclosed at this point.

Opposition

15. Sayed Mohammad Khatami met with families of two political prisoners, Hossein Tajik and Hamza Ghaleb, last night. They both work for Mousavi’s campaign. Rafsanjani’s website published a page from his memoirs that talked about his days of fighting against the Shah during the Revolution. The page outlines that every generation faces challenges and that fear was never going to stop generations from fighting for their rights. Many are interpreting this as a direct message to Khamenei.

16. Former Minister of Health, Iraj Fazel, has criticized the government’s clamp- down on peaceful protesters and asked for an immediate halt to the violence. He stated, “People of Iran did not revolt against the Shah so that the blood of our youth could be spilled by the revolution.”

17. After yesterday’s gathering of reformists in Eastern Azerbaijan Province, reformists in Fars Province held a meeting in Shiraz today. They declared their support for Mousavi and called for the annulment of the elections.

Government / International

18. The infighting within the Iranian Government over Ahmadinejad’s appointment of Asfandyar Rahim Mashaie as one of his Vice Presidents continues. Reports today suggest that Ahmadinejad continues to support his selection. One of his aides, Mojtaba Samara Hashemi, was quoted today as saying, “Ahmadinejad will not reconsider the appointment; it is final.”

19. Ahmadinejad’s continued support for Mashaie was “checked” today by Khamenei. Sayed Mohammad Hassan Abotorabifard informed the ISNA (Iranian Student’s News Agency) that Khamenei, the majority of Members of Parliament, and the Iranian people wanted Mashaie to either resign his position or for Ahmadinejad to take back his appointment. Abotorabifard, an MP from Qazvin, stated that Khamenei had sent an official letter to Ahmadinejad opposing the appointment of Mashaie.

20. In an ironic twist to his claim of “good governance,” Ahmadinejad appointed his son-in-law, Mehdi Khorshidi, as Director of the Presidential Secretary, and the husband of Ahmadinejad’s sister-in-law, as the head of Iran’s largest youth organization.

21. The Iran’s Chief of Police, Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, accused the opposition of “inciting sedition” and announced that the, “Iranian police will crush anyone who creates tensions in Iran.” The Iranian Judiciary announced that it was NOT going to enact a statute that lawyers claimed “restricted their freedom to practice their profession.”

22. Russia’s Foreign Minister stated, “Only a small number of people in Iran were chanting against Russia during protest.” Meanwhile, Iran’s Ambassador to Russia, declared, “Russian planes were far more secure in terms of flight-safety than the Airbus.”

23. Congressman Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI), gave a speech in the US House of Representatives today. McCotter criticized the Iranian government and talked about Taraneh Mousavi’s rape and murder. Here’s a video link to his speech: YouTube – McCotter on Iran’s Khamenei: Your Referendum Has Been Held and You Have Failed Your Test

Arrested / Released / Killed

24. Reports suggest that as many as thirty people were arrested during protests today. No deaths could be confirmed.

25. Mohammad Ali Dadkhah -an Iranian lawyer and human rights activist who was detained after the protests – has been charged with possession of illegal firearms and opium. Mohammad Ali Abtahi has also been charged with possession of illegal weapons. One Iranian blogger has managed to obtain pictures of the ‘weapons’ discovered in Abtahi’s house (LOL): تصاوير سلاح‏هاي كشف شده در منزل محمدعلي ابطحي � اولين وبلاگ مستقل پس از صدر اسلام

26. It has now been confirmed that Shapur Kazemi – the brother-in-law of Mir Hossein Mousavi – has been in detention for more than a month now. Reports also indicate that during the past few days, at least six prominent reformists have been arrested in Mahabad.

Media

27. The editor for Keyhan Daily Newspaper’s dismissed Khatami’s call for a “referendum” and called it akin to proposals by Michael Ledeen – from the American Enterprise Institute who in 2003 pressed for a military overthrow of Iran’s regime. Press TV’s Javad Shamaqdari today said that the IRIB should give Ahamdinejad more airtime.

Miscellaneous

28. Paula Slater has sculpted a detailed portrait bust of Neda Aga-Soltan which will be presented at a rally to support Iran on July 25th. The rally will take place in front of San Francisco City Hall. A picture of the sculpture: Death of Neda

29. The Piazzale Michelangelo – one of Florence’s main squares – went green today in support of the Green Movement. Video:

*If you wanna republish the Green Brief, please visit this page: For Bloggers, News Sites and Forum who want to republish the Green Brief Please Read! – Why We Protest – IRAN

**For Radio Broadcasters: Green Brief Pronounciation Guide – Why We Protest – IRAN

***(A list of all the Green Briefs: The Green Briefs

****A hearty thanks to Sahar joon for helping me out with proof-reading and very valuable tips. Also, a BIG THANKS to all the translators who’re spending their precious time on getting this to as many people as possible.

Read this if you want to help or get help!

Helpers:

A. You can retweet this link and help others know what is going on in Iran.

B. Discuss/Annotate: http://aic.openmsl.net/wiki/index.php/Green_Brief_35

C. The government in Iran is still increasing internet filtering and throttling in an attempt to silence their people. Anonymous info shows that many in Iran are looking for proxy and Tor information in Tehran and all around the country. Please donate your bandwidth to help bring down the Iran Curtain. Here are links on how to help and get help on this:

English:

http://torir.org

http://torir.brokep.com

http://img1.anonbw.com

http://tinyurl.com/lexowb

Farsi:

http://torir.org/index.html.fa

http://tinyurl.com/m6k3a9

The Green Brief #34 (July 20)

I’m NiteOwl AKA Josh Shahryar – twitter.com/iran_translator on twitter. I’m a journalist and a human rights activist and NOT Iranian. This is a compilation of news from Iran that I’ve gathered through twitter and Iranian sites that were advertised on twitter. Remember, this is all from tweets. (My work is released under Creative Commons (CC).)

These are the important happenings that I can positively confirm from Monday, July 20 .

In German: http://iran-info-dienst.blogspot.com/

In Hebrew: http://bit.ly/Ocwdk

Protests / Unrest

1. Mir Hossein Mousavi has endorsed his protesters’ tactic of causing massive black-outs. The Iranian Government has equated the tactic to sabotage, but protesters have used it as a non-violent means to defy the government.

2. Neda Aga-Soltan’s family will be congregating at her grave site on the 40th day after her death on July 30, 2009 (the 40th day after a person’s death is traditionally the most essential day of mourning for Muslims). No prior announcements will be made – however, the family said they will welcome anyone who may want to partake in Neda’s bereavement.

3. There are calls for demonstrations tomorrow to commemorate the deaths of protesters killed on June 20th. It has not been confirmed whether or not it has the backing of any opposition leaders.

4. Italian fashion designer, Guillermo Mariotto, wore a shirt that said “Neda Alive” (in green writing) during Haute Couture. All the models presenting his newest creations also wore green wristbands in solidarity with the Green Movement in Iran. Video:

5. Archbishop Bishop Desmund Tutu – a Nobel Peace Prize winner and South African human rights activist – has announced that he too will be joining the Global Day of Action in support of the Green Movement. Other prominent Iranian and international personalities including Shirin Ebadi, Jody Williams, Betty Williams, Mairead Maguire, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Dariush, and Simin Behbahani. Details on the event can be found here: http://united4iran.org/

6. Noam Chomsky – an eminent American philosopher, linguist, author and lecturer who is 81 years old – has announced that he will partake in the hunger strike in support of the Green Movement in New York. The hunger strike is reportedly being held from July 22-25, and will encompass many important Iranian and international figures.

Opposition

7. The grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini, Sayed Hassan Khomeini, has reportedly left the country. Reports indicate he left the country after being pressured by the government to attend Ahmadinejad’s Inauguration Ceremony – in order to provide the government with much needed legitimacy.

8. Mousavi had a meeting with families of detainees today, where he made several statements:

• He announced that the Green Movement was a peaceful movement, BUT that it was ready to make sacrifices should the need arise.

• He asked the government to ensure freedom of speech. He claimed that it would foster a calm environment in the country – a much better alternative to the current atmosphere of fear created by the extensive use of security forces.

• He stated “The Iranian Nation had matured and that the use of pre-1979 tactics wouldn’t be enough to silence it,” and “The Nation had been reborn and was going to defend its achievements.” He condemned the on-going arrests in the country and called it a “National issue – one that would not solve the government’s problems.”

• He called it “An insult to the Iranian Nation to suggest that foreigners had orchestrated the post-election protests in Iran.” He also criticized the government for defending the arrests of peaceful protesters and called it unjust and cruel.

• He added that, “NO ONE in the international community was going to believe the lies the government was spreading with forced confessions from detainees.” Mousavi, Karoubi and Khatami have been holding regular meetings with the families of detainees during the past three weeks.

9. Supporters of Mousavi in Eastern Azerbaijan Province held a meeting Sunday night and released a statement in support of Mousavi. Hundreds of prominent members of society including politicians, human rights activists and university professors attended the meeting.

10. Press TV quoted Mousavi as saying that he had “spent nearly $3.5 million US dollars on his campaign,” and that “Mahdi Karroubi had spent roughly the same amount.”

In a rare break from the government, Press TV’s printed:

“According to Mousavi, Iran needs what he called a ‘free media’ to reverse the growing ‘appeal of foreign media’ which he claimed is a side effect of the ‘lack of press freedoms’ and the national broadcaster’s ‘mistaken approach.”
The report also accused protesters of turning to violence and claimed that the Guardian Council had authenticated the elections after ‘launching an extensive probe’ of examining the complaints from the defeated candidates.

Government / International

11. Ali Motaherri – a representative of Tehran in the Iranian Parliament – criticized Ayatollah Yazdi’s statements that questioned Rafsanjani’s sermon on Friday. Motaherri said, “A regime’s legitimacy was only guaranteed by people’s support.”

12. Khamenei issued harsh words today to ‘Iran’s Elite.’ He said, “The Elite should watch their words and actions carefully, because they are facing a test.” He added, “Failing the test would mean that not only would they lose their positions within the regime, but also lose their credibility and become pariahs.” Although no names were mentioned, many say his speech was directed at Rafsanjani – for creating insecurity and disorder in the country. Khamenei declared, “The Iranian Nation would hate anyone who participated in such actions.” He called the “creation of violence the biggest sin.”

13. President-Select Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s office has asked people who want to help the country to come forward and offer their services. According to his office, the government was looking for people to help the president’s administration at different levels and that a committee will soon be formed to recruit such people.

Arrested / Released / Killed

14. Partially-confirmed reports from Evin Prison indicate that one protester was tortured for days in order to extort a confession. After all torture tactics failed, a doctor was brought in to examine the detainee who was found to be deaf and mute. He was later released. Other reports from Evin Prison suggest a new torture tactic: hanging detainees’ upside-down for hours, and sometimes the entire day.

15. Mohammad Kamrani’s body was laid to rest today at Beheshte Zahra Cemetery. He was one of the protesters who was detained and tortured severely. He was transferred to Tehran’s Mehr Hospital unconscious and shackled. He never regained consciousness, and later died.

16. It is now confirmed that Hamid and Puran Ebrahimnezhad – who have been in detention since their arrest – were in fact arrested on July 7, 2009. They were reportedly beaten while being hauled away.

17. On a positive note, detained political activist Mehdi Khazali has been released from Evin Prison. In a statement released today, families of political prisoners asked the government, yet again, to “promptly release all prisoners and stop the violent repression of the populace at the hands of security forces.” Their statement also thanked Rafsanjani for taking a bold stand against the continued detention of political prisoners and peaceful protesters.

(I am compiling a report on torture and rape of detainees in Iran during the post-election violence. Should be released tonight or tomorrow)

Media

18. A leading Iranian Cleric – Hojatoleslam Seyed Mehdi Tabatabai – criticized Ahmadinejad’s statements (against his opponents right after the election) in a televised interview on IRIB. He said, “Ahmadinejad should have immediately called for dialogue with his opponents and should NOT have subjected them to ridicule.” He added, “The post-election violence was caused by hostility stemming from the blatant ridicule.” It should be noted that this is one of the very FEW instances where Iranian media has allowed criticism of Ahmadinejad to be broadcasted on IRIB.

*If you want to republish the Green Brief, please visit this page: http://tinyurl.com/mjxrz3

**For Radio Broadcasters: http://tinyurl.com/nmvxpk

***A list of all the Green Briefs: http://ded1.hybrid-optix.com/greenbriefs.html

****A hearty thanks to Sahar joon for helping me out with proof-reading and very valuable tips. Also, a BIG THANKS to all the translators who’re spending their precious time on getting this to as many people as possible.

Read this if you want to help or get help!

Helpers:

A. You can retweet this link and help others know what is going on in Iran.

B. ****Discuss/Annotate: http://aic.openmsl.net/wiki/index.php/Green_Brief_34

B. The government in Iran is still increasing internet filtering and throttling in an attempt to silence their people. Anonymous info shows that many in Iran are looking for proxy and Tor information in Tehran and all around the country. Please donate your bandwidth to help bring down the Iran Curtain. Here are links on how to help and get help on this:

English:

http://torir.org

http://torir.brokep.com

http://img1.anonbw.com

http://tinyurl.com/lexowb

Farsi:

http://torir.org/index.html.fa

http://tinyurl.com/m6k3a9

The Green Brief #32 (July 18)

I’m NiteOwl AKA Josh Shahryar – twitter.com/iran_translator on twitter. I’m a journalist and a human rights activist and NOT Iranian. This is a compilation of news from Iran that I’ve gathered through twitter and Iranian sites that were advertised on twitter. Remember, this is all from tweets. (My work is released under Creative Commons (CC) so you can post it wherever you want as long as you provide a link to the original source and the disclaimer… PLEASE?.)

These are the important happenings that I can positively confirm from Saturday, July 18 . (A list of all the Green Briefs: The Green Briefs)

In Danish: http://tinyurl.com/l6dcw5

In German: Irannews: Green Brief #32 (18. Juli 2009) – Deutsch

In Hebrew: Content Factory Reports:NO MIND CONTROL CC שיתוף למטרות יצירתיות ‎(contentfactory)‎

In Italian: The Green Brief #32 (July 18) in Italian – Why We Protest – IRAN

In Polish: http://glosiranu.blog.pl/archiwum/in…p?nid=14405462

In Spanish: Informe Verde #32 � Diplomática de Bolsillo

Protests / Unrest

1. An event called the “Global Day of Action” is being organized for human rights in Iran by activists throughout the world. This event will take place on July 25th all across the world- in at least 50 cities. Protesters will demand the freedom of all Iranians apprehended, as well as asking the Iranian Government to stop the repression of the Iranian populace. More about this here: http://united4iran.org/

2. New reports emerging from yesterday’s protests, confirm the burning of several Russian flags around Iran – a clear sign of their outrage for Russia’s continued support for the Iranian Regime.

3. Youngsters in Iran have taken up a new course of action to show their discontent. Every night, they form small groups and walk around small streets and alleys, chanting slogans against the regime and in support of Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Opposition

4. Etemaade Melli Newspaper reported that the Minister of Information, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejaie, held a meeting with Sayed Mohammad Khatami. It is important to note that Ejaie is widely touted as the “Intelligence Chief” of Iran. It is not clear what was discussed in the meeting at this point.

5. In a statement released today, Sayed Mohammad Khatami said that he was unable to join Friday Prayer’s because he “was in Qom holding meetings with prominent clerics.” From the onset of the post-election turmoil, several leaders of the opposition have gone to Qom and held meetings with Ayatollahs. Many Ayatollahs have so far pledged their support for the cause of the protesters.

6. In an interview with ILNA today, Emad Afroogh – a conservative Iranian politician and former member of the Iranian Parliament – has criticized the government’s media censorship tactics. He supports Rafsanjani’s speech and said that Rafsanjani’s words pointed out necessary steps that need to be taken in order to restore calm in Iran. He said that, “Iran wasn’t China and that the government needn’t worry about a velvet revolution.” He asked the government to prosecute any media outlets that have lied about people’s demands and their activities in the post-election turmoil.

7. Shirin Ebadi – Nobel Peace Prize winner and human rights activist – released a statement today stating, “If the government doesn’t change its mind and act rationally, protests will continue.” Ebadi also urged the County of LA yesterday to not grant a business contract to Siemens because of their involvement in Iran’s censorship.

Government / International

8. Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi – a member of the Guardian Council – has strongly criticized Rafsanjani’s Friday Sermon. He said that, “A government’s legitimacy doesn’t come from people, but by God’s support.” He claimed that Rafsanjani had “no right” to ask for the release of detainees. He pointed out that Prophet Mohammed had also ordered the destruction of mosques built by Monafiqeen (People who claimed to be Muslim so they could create rifts between the Islamic communities).

(This is a correction. There was an error in reporting as we reported that Mesbah Yazdi had released those statements while it was Mohammad Yazdi. Apologies)

9. Many hard-liners – including Ahmad Khatami as well as Keyhan Daily Newspaper (which is considered to be the voice of Khamenei) – have criticized the appointment of Rahim Mashaie as Vice President of Iran. They have requested Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to review his decision because Mashaie was “not fit” for the position. Mashaie has been blasted by hard-liners in the past for saying, “The people of Iran were friends of the people of Israel.”

10. Reports indicate that Iran’s government has plans for systematically removing all “pro-Mousavi” and “anti-Ahmadinejad” professors from Iranian Universities. The first victims of this policy – Dr. Fatimeh Rakeie and Dr. Abdollah Naseri of Tehran’s Az-Zahra University – have been forced to resign their positions. Many faculty members of Az-Zahra had joined Mousavi’s movement recently. The “plan” also encompasses government employees from various ministries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has created a list of 200 names that have to be ‘purged’ from within the ministry.

11. The Guardian Council has published a detailed report about the election and the post-election events that transpired. The report asserts the legitimacy and accuracy of the elections, and notes that all complaints filed against the election were investigated and found to be baseless. The detailed report has been published by Parleman News which you can find here: پارلمان نیوز : گزارش تفصیلی شورای نگهبان پیرامون دهمین دوره انتخابات ریاست جمهوری منشر شد

Arrested / Released / Killed

12. Dr. Hasan Shiekhabadi, a political activist and journalist, was arrested yesterday from Mahabad in West Azerbaijan Province. Hossein Mousavi (Not to be confused with Mir Hossein Mousavi) and other members of the Participation Front were arrested right before Friday Prayer’s. Three of the members were released, but Hossein Mousavi and many others are still in custody.

13. It has now been confirmed that another detained protester, 18 year old Muhammad Kamrani, has died after being severely tortured by the regime’s security forces. According to sources, Kamrani died on Thursday after being in detention for over a week. Evidently, he was tortured so badly that the “gesture” of transferring him to a hospital proved futile. Reports indicate that even though Kamrani never regained consciousness after his transfer, he was still kept bound in his hospital bed.

14. In an interview published by Javan Daily, the Minister of Information has stated that many people responsible for the operation and maintenance of Ayandeh and Jomhooriyat Websites have been arrested. He alleged that, “These people were working to harm the Islamic Republic and that the government would clamp down on ALL people who are involved in attempts at creating tensions within Iran.”

15. Amnesty International has released a statement calling for the immediate release of Iranian feminist, lawyer, and journalist Shadi Sadr, who was arrested yesterday. Security forces also raided her home and confiscated her computer, documents and many of her personal belongings.

Miscellaneous

16. Tehran Municipality Council has announced that it will be cleaning Azadi Tower. An icon in the city built 38 years ago, Azadi Tower is located in Azadi Square – the scene of many of the protests. According to reports, orders to wash the tower are due to the overwhelming display of anti-government and pro-reform slogans written all over the white tower.

17. Nokia sales are really taking a hit in Tehran as members of the Green Movement have started an active campaign to rid the country of the company’s cell phones. According to sources, members have organized a campaign to stop buying new Nokia cell phones and discard those already in use. Similar campaigns are taking place around the world by other groups of concerned individuals. Reports from yesterday indicate that the County of Los Angeles might not grant Siemens -another company implicated along with Nokia in selling surveillance equipment to the Iranian Government – a business contract because of anger over its role in the regime’s ability to track down dissenters.

Listen to: Sea of Green Radio // Playlist –> http://ow.ly/hCcZ // Browse –> Radionomy – Sea of Green radio ICECAST COMING SOON// The Big Board: Radio Index – GreenCandle

Read this if you want to help or get help!

Helpers:

A. You can retweet this link and help others know what is going on in Iran.

B: If you would like to help out with compiling all the news stories from Iran in a geo-spatial context, please request for sub-editorship at #iran.aic – WebIRC – AnonNet – Check out the website for the project at: Iran Map | Iran Map.

C. The government in Iran is still increasing internet filtering and throttling in an attempt to silence their people. Anonymous info shows that many in Iran are looking for proxy and Tor information in Tehran and all around the country. Please donate your bandwidth to help bring down the Iran Curtain. Here are links on how to help and get help on this:

English:

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor Browser Bundle

The Green Brief #31 (July 17)

I’m NiteOwl AKA Josh Shahryar – twitter.com/iran_translator on twitter – and I’ve been immersed in tweets from Iran for the past several hours. I have tried to be extremely careful in choosing my tweet sources. What I have compiled below is what I can confirm through my reliable twitter sources. Remember, this is all from tweets. (My work is released under Creative Commons (CC) so you can post it wherever you want as long as you provide a link to the original source and the disclaimer… PLEASE?.)

These are the important happenings that I can positively confirm from Friday, July 17 . (A list of all the Green Briefs: The Green Briefs)

In Danish: http://tinyurl.com/llsmxt

In French: http://tinyurl.com/nctvtd

In German: http://iran-info-dienst.blogspot.com/

In Hebrew: http://tinyurl.com/m5zjub

In Italian: http://tinyurl.com/l4jzvs

In Polish: http://glosiranu.blog.pl/archiwum/in…p?nid=14404094

In Spanish: http://tinyurl.com/mdsz2m

In Swedish: http://greenbrief.blogspot.com/

Protests / Unrest

1. Hashemi Rafsanjani’s Friday prayers speech was accompanied today by large protests across Tehran and in many other parts of Iran. His sermon was not live-broadcasted on Iranian TVs, but one IRIB radio station did broadcast it (Here’s a PARTIAL translation of his speech: Rafsanjani’s Friday Prayer Sermon – Why We Protest – IRAN).

2. Many top Iranian pro-reform politicians were present during the Friday sermons including Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mahdi Karroubi and Abdollah Nouri. Mousavi’s wife, Zahra Rahnavard, and Rafsanjani’s wife and two daughters also joined the prayers today.

3. Karroubi was assaulted in front of Tehran University as he tried to enter the compound to join the prayers. Nouri – a former minister during Khatami and Rafsanjani’s presidency and a much respected reformist who’s derided by the conservatives – was also insulted and attacked by Basijis as he was making his way towards Tehran University. Reformist former president Mohammad Khatami was not seen attending the prayers. Conservative politicians largely stayed away from the prayers.

4. In his sermon/speech, Rafsanjani asked the government to release all prisoners, all sides of the political debate to sit together and discuss the issues, the government and security forces to follow the law when dealing with protesters, for an end to media censorship and said that the Guardian Council had missed a chance to restore people’s trust.

5. Rafsanjani’s speech at Tehran University was attended by thousands of people – many of them protesters who wore green bands on their heads or around their wrists. Thousands of people gathered outside the University while hundreds of thousands marched across other areas of Tehran even while the speech/sermon was being delivered.

6. Protesters inside the mosque chanted “Allah o Akbar”, “Azadi… Azadi” (Freedom… Freedom) and slogans against Russia and China. Rafsanjani tried several times to stop people from chanting but the chants continued sporadically. It is worth mentioning that there was a loudspeaker inside the mosque which chanted, “Death to America!”, but every time that slogan was heard, people loudly replied with, “Death to Russia, Death to China!”

7. How many people may have gathered in Tehran is very difficult to determine. While tweet sources claimed up to four million people were out on the streets, the real numbers were probably much lower. From photos and video footage that was released and testimonies from reliable tweet sources, one could assume that there were close to a million people or slightly more than a million took part in the protests. Again, this is just an estimate.

6. By far the largest part of the crowd headed from Tehran University to Azadi Square. Streets around the University were crowded with protesters. There were a few hundred pro-Ahmadinejad and pro-Khamenei protesters out too. Many held placards with Ahmadinejad and Khamenei’s pictures. They also staged a march towards Azadi Square.

7. Thousands of people gathered around the Ministry of Interior, the IRIB building and in front of Evin Prison. Large numbers of protesters were present in Keshavarz Boulevard, Enghelab Square, Valiasr, Jamhori Blvd, Ferdowsi Square and Quds Ave and well as 16 Azar Ave. Protesters chanted “Death to the Dictator” “Where’s My Vote?” and similar slogans.

8. Cell phone Networks were cut off in most parts of Central Tehran and in areas where protesters had gathered elsewhere. IRIB photographers and cameramen were filming individual protesters from within the crowds and from high-rise buildings. The task was made difficult because there protests in all parts of Tehran, not just the centre of city.

9. Basijis and other security forces today brutalized protesters once again. At least two people were shot and one girl was reportedly killed during the protests. Basijis used batons to beat people – even small children and women were not spared. Many women were reportedly stabbed with knives by Basijis dressed as women. Several mosques around the city were packed with Basijis waiting to come out and clash with protesters.

10. Heavy clashes were reported from around the IRIB building, Jame Jam Street, Keshavarz Blvd, Amirabad Street, University of Tehran dorms, Ferdowsi Square, Jomhoori Street, Azadi Street and almost all parts of Central Tehran as well as in front of Tehran University where clashes were the heaviest. Gunshots were heard from many parts of the city, especially Azadi Square. Basijis even attacked people who had come to prayers.

11. More than a hundred people were arrested from Tehran today, a large majority from the central part of the city. Tear gas was used extensively in many parts of the city by Basijis and other security forces. There were also reports that many Basijis were carrying taserguns and used them on many protesters. Military helicopters were flying around the city for much of the day. Many shop-keepers and people with homes close to the protests opened their doors for protesters running away from security forces. Cars driving past protests honked their horns in a show of support for protesters. Protests continued till about midnight Tehran time.

12. Today, there were also reports of protests in Karaj, Ghazvin, Mashhad and Tabriz. In Mashhad, hundreds of people walked the streets with green placards. It has been partially confirmed that Basijis used tear gas to disperse protesters in Mashhad and many people were injured. A small rally was held in Qom as well.

13. During Ahmadinejad’s speech in Mashhad yesterday, it has been confirmed that many people chanted Allah o Akbar and many people there to hear the speech wore green armbands and headbands.

Opposition

14. The Participation Front issued a statement today, thanking the Sea of Green for participating in rallies on Friday. The statement also added that the people responsible for the coupe d’état against the people would eventually lose the battle against the will of the people.

15. Reports indicate that Said Mohammad Khatami and Abdullah Nouri held a meeting on Tuesday last week to discuss the current situation in the country. It is being reported that Nouri has joined the opposition to the elections by urging of Khatami.

Government / International

16. President-Select Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has appointed several members of his cabinet so far, but the full list of cabinet members will be released after his inauguration. Among the appointees, Asfandyar Rahim Mashaie has been appointed to the post of first vice president. He also appointed a new chief for the Iranian nuclear agency.

17. Iran Intelligence Minister Gholamhosein Ejaie claimed today that Israel as one of the enemies of the Islamic Republic had been responsible for much interference in Iran’s affairs. Ejaie also added that the Israeli government had plotted to assassinate Ahmadinejad during the elections. (For once…)

Arrests / Release / Deaths

18. New reports indicate that at least 36 officers of the Iranian Army have been arrested for participating in Kamyl prayers for detainees and martyrs. They were arrested in Ray city close to Tehran on charges of holding secret meetings and activities pertaining to sabotage.

19. Shadi Sadr – an Iranian lawyer, feminist and journalist – was beaten and arrested while making her way towards the prayers today in Tehran. Later, her house was thoroughly searched by security forces. Her whereabouts are unknown at this point. New reports indicate that yesterday, Roshanak Siyasi – another feminist and reformist activist – was arrested as well. Other detainees from recent days include Ahmad Madadi, Raoof Taheri and Reza Abbasi from Zanjan.

20. An advisor to Mousavi has announced that a committee formed by reformists to follow cases of detainees will start operations from Saturday. Families of detainees can contact their office on this phone number: 77637696

21. I can now confirm the gang rape and death of Taraneh Mousavi. She was a leftist reformist student and was detained by Basijis a few days ago. She was raped repeatedly and her charred body was found in Ghazvin two days ago. Another detainee reportedly died on July 9. The cause of death cannot be ascertained at this point.

Media

22. IRIB censored many of Rafsanjani’s pro-reform remarks and instead focuses all of its attention on his words for unity. Fars News claimed that people were whistling and clapping while Rafsanjani was giving the sermon. IRIB also failed to mention people chanting against China and Russia.

*A lot of questions regarding Bernard Kouchner’s statement that France would recognize Ahmadinejad yesterday were answered by a responsible French citizen who provided us with valuable analysis of what actually happened: What Bernard Kouchner REALLY said about Iran – Why We Protest – IRAN)

**This picture is old, but I figured I’ll post it for anyone who hasn’t seen it. It shows how the Iranian government photoshopped a pro-Ahmadinejad protest a few weeks ago to make it look larger than it was: http://tinyurl.com/lkqscu — Courtesy of an Israeli friend)

***A hearty thanks to Sahar joon for helping me out with proof-reading and very valuable tips. Also, a BIG THANKS to all the translators who’re spending their precious time on getting this to as many people as possible.

Read this if you want to help or get help!

Helpers:

A. You can retweet this link and help others know what is going on in Iran.

B: If you would like to help out with compiling all the news stories from Iran in a geo-spatial context, please request for sub-editorship at #iran.aic – WebIRC – AnonNet – Check out the website for the project at: Iran Map | Iran Map or email me at dbosca@gmail.com.

C. The government in Iran is still increasing internet filtering and throttling in an attempt to silence their people. Anonymous info shows that many in Iran are looking for proxy and Tor information in Tehran and all around the country. Please donate your bandwidth to help bring down the Iran Curtain. Here are links on how to help and get help on this:

English:

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor and the Iranian Election – Bring down the Iran Curtain | Ian’s Brain

Farsi:

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor: آنلاين Tor

[B]Help us set up more bridges on Tor here:

Gonzo Times � Torrents List (82 videos)

Original NiteOwl Greenbriefs at WhyWeProtest.net