Iran: The crackdown begins in earnest

[AZZenny]

6 Mousavi supporters reportedly hanged
Jul. 1, 2009
SABINA AMIDI, Special to The Jerusalem Post
As the Iranian authorities warned the opposition on Tuesday that they would tolerate no further protests over the disputed June 12 presidential elections, a report emerged of the hangings of six supporters of defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Speaking after Iran's top legislative body upheld the election victory of incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, sources in Iran told this reporter in a telephone interview that the hangings took place in the holy city of Mashhad on Monday. There was no independent confirmation of the report.

Underlining the climate of fear among direct and even indirect supporters of Mousavi's campaign for the election to be annulled, the sources also reported that a prominent cleric gave a speech to opposition protesters in Teheran earlier this week in which he publicly acknowledged that the very act of speaking at the gathering would likely cost him his life.

"Ayatollah Hadi Gafouri said that the Imam [Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini] never wanted [current supreme Leader] Ali Khamenei to succeed him. He even went to say that the Islamic republic died the day the Imam did," one source said.

On Monday, witnesses said thousands of policemen and Basij militiamen carrying batons were deployed in Teheran's main squares to prevent any recurrence of the opposition protests. Drivers who so much as shouted "Allahu Akbar" or beeped their horns had their windows smashed by the Basiji and riot police.



And yet people still go up to the roofs at night and yell against the regime.


Imprisoned Newsweek Reporter Maziar Bahari has 'admitted' to lying, and distorting the truth of the election in his dispatches. Two dozen other western and Iranian journalists have been arrested and there has been no word of their circumstances.
Photos meant to give confidence in the 'recount' actually show piles of crisp, unfolded ballots which appear to have all the same handwriting -- a claim separately made by a defeated conservative candidate, who nevertheless withdrew his challenge.

[Holmes85]

Imprisoned Newsweek Reporter Maziar Bahari has 'admitted' to lying, and distorting the truth of the election in his dispatches.
.

Seems like they want to associate the U.S. with meddling in Iranian affairs by arresting a reporter for a American news magazine.

[G-AWZT]

Meanwhile the US media is entranced by news that Michael Jackson has a will. Our media has such a short attention span for important int'l stories. What's going on in Iran is vital to everyone's interest.

[ARGAR FORKBEARD]

The death of a kiddy fiddler must be more important than people dying in iran!!

[Scriptable]

The death of a kiddy fiddler must be more important than people dying in iran!!
Maybe the Iran news should be packaged as a reality TV show. That would get the American audience interested.

[XShipRider]

Meanwhile the US media is entranced by news that Michael Jackson has a will. Our media has such a short attention span for important int'l stories. What's going on in Iran is vital to everyone's interest.

This should not surprise you. If the news were presented as an infomercial it would enjoy more viewership, readership and the like.

[ZARDOZ]

As an American, the above comments shame me because of the truth of them. We used to be so better than this.....

As for the "real" concerning matters of world events, The hanging (unconfirmed) of six opponents is really a disturbing state of affairs.

[Dan2004]

Our media has such a short attention span for important int'l stories. What's going on in Iran is vital to everyone's interest.

What if it's intentional? The shift in coverage, to direct our attention (which sadly, for 95% of the population, is incredibly easy) away from this popular uprising in Iran, and onto some dumbing-down topic.

[Hollis]

Maybe the Iran news should be packaged as a reality TV show. That would get the American audience interested.


America is not the whole world. out of 6.5 Billion people the US has .35 Billion people. So: why is it the US problem only? 2) why isn't the rest of the world included in your flame. 3) what would you have out side countries do?

[Fenix]

Ive been following CNNs online coverage recently and they have been publishing a lot of
the official Irani statements which makes me wonder if they have a journalist held hostage
or somebody got a payday..

[brainplay]

America is not the whole world. out of 6.5 Billion people the US has .35 Billion people. So: why is it the US problem only? 2) why isn't the rest of the world included in your flame. 3) what would you have out side countries do?

I believe that would be because most countries acknowledge the US as being the only nation that just might have (although a slim chance) the cojones to actually do anything about it.

I'm not trying to be arrogant about this but does anyone really disagree here?

p.s.- don't even bring up invasions, blah blah blah. Not advocating another Iraq.

[Laworkerbee]

We don't have news anymore, it's entertainment billed as news.

[Hollis]

I believe that would be because most countries acknowledge the US as being the only nation that just might have (although a slim chance) the cojones to actually do anything about it.

I'm not trying to be arrogant about this but does anyone really disagree here?

p.s.- don't even bring up invasions, blah blah blah. Not advocating another Iraq.


There may be some who think that way, but, IMHO, it is probably the usual the US is just bad or always wrong thinking, regardless of what the US does.

[Hollis]

recent developments in Iran are important for:

- yes, the U.S.
- the whole Middle East
- ANZAC, NATO and SEATO nations (why? coz of their troops in the neighbourhood)
- all Sunni states with a sizeable Shia minority (to name one: Saudi Arabia)
- BRIC states (coz of their oil/gas biz stances)

but for the teens and fans alike Jacko's will is more important. and that's pretty much right.


I agree with you that Iran is a global issue. How we all proceed is the complex part. I think, if anything foreign intervention needs to be measured against the back lash it would have in Iran. As it is now, Iran is trying to play "foreign provocateurs at work" card to discredit the protesters and to hang them. I also think, the biggest burden is on the Iranian people, if there is a massive swell of internal support, more can be done to support them.

[AZZenny]

The UK Guardian runs a disturbing piece:

Afshin, a shopkeeper from south-west Iran, alleges that one of his friends was beaten and repeatedly raped after being arrested at an opposition rally after last month's disputed election. He gave this account to Esfandiar Poorgiv (real name not used), a journalist and academic.

He came to my shop around 10.30am. You could tell straight away that he had just been released. His face was bruised all over. His teeth were broken and he could hardly open his eyes.

He was not even into politics. He was just an ordinary 18-year-old in the last year of school. Before the election he came to me and asked how he should vote. He looks up to me. His father is an Ahmadinejad supporter.

He had gone home directly after his release, but his father did not let him in. He didn't mention he had been raped. At first, he didn't tell me either. It was the doctor who first noticed it and told me.

When he came to my shop he collapsed in a chair. He said he had nowhere to go and asked if he could stay with me. I called a friend of mine who is a doctor to come home and see him. Then I brought him home.

His shoulder blades and arms were wounded. There were some slashes on the face. No bone fractures, but he was bruised all over the body. I wanted to take some photos but he did not let me. The doctor said only four of his teeth were intact, the rest were broken. You could hardly understand what he said.

Then the doctor told me what had happened. He had suffered rupture of the rectum and the doctor feared colonic bleeding. He suggested we take him to the hospital immediately.

They registered him under a false name and with somebody else's insurance. ...He was a broken man. He told us not to waste our money on him, and that he would kill himself.

He was arrested in Shiraz on 15 June, the Monday after the election...
"I was kept in a van till evening that day and then transferred to a solitary cell where I was kept for two days," he said. "Then I was repeatedly interrogated, beaten and hung from a ceiling. They call it chicken kebab. They tie your hands and feet together and hang you from the ceiling, turning you around and beating you with cables....




Iran activist released from Evin prison. On the website of his organization 'Stop Child Executions,' Mohammad Mostafaei posts a message titled, "Free after 7 days."
This afternoon after paying 1 billion Rials (about $100,000 USD), being accused of conspiracy against the security of the government and propaganda against the regime, I was released from section 209 of the Evin prison (in Tehran)




Ex-President Khatami calls election outcome a "coup" against democracy. ...Defeated presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi also criticized the election outcome Wednesday, calling the government led by Mr. Ahmadinejad "illegitimate."
Once again there are calls for a strike being raised by Mousavi.

But just to discourage people...


Oil ministry official reportedly arrested. According to Jahan News (sent by a reader), a high-ranking Petroleum Ministry official was arrested in a "rioter cell house" on charges of attempting to instigate a strike in one of the refineries of Iran.

[IraGlacialis]

There may be some who think that way, but, IMHO, it is probably the usual the US is just bad or always wrong thinking, regardless of what the US does.
That is probably so.
Even if the US is just a small percentage of the world pop, it still doesn't hurt for our media and people to keep a vigilant eye on the going ons abroad instead of slavering over vapid pop culture. There is a reason I don't get my news from the TV.

He had gone home directly after his release, but his father did not let him in.Talk about a douchebag move...

[Hollis]

That is probably so.
Even if the US is just a small percentage of the world pop, it still doesn't hurt for our media and people to keep a vigilant eye on the going ons abroad instead of slavering over vapid pop culture. There is a reason I don't get my news from the TV.
.


I agree I would hope all media would focus on this injustice. But as been said earlier, new is entertainment now.

[AZZenny]

And attractive, brave, excited people in the streets demonstrating for civil and political rights is much better entertainment than the horrific abuse of their human rights.

[Blue_0]

A rather nasty and violent demise to a non-violent protest movement. It is sad we and they are powerless to do anything.

-- Bluelight

[AZZenny]

The state-run Fars news agency reported that 20 people were hanged at the Karaj prison west of the capital on Saturday, and another 14 executions elsewhere in Iran have been reported by state media since Wednesday, including six hangings at Teheran's Evin Prison. Many of those executed have been described in state media as drug traffickers - a charge often leveled at dissidents.
Iranian police say that about 1,000 people have been detained for involvement in the public protests that erupted after June 12 presidential elections.



Informal sources say a lot more than a thousand people are missing.

A leading newspaper editor and pal of Ahmadinejad has called Mousavi and Karroubi American agents and called for their arrest and execution.

[Hrundi V Bakshi]

Beat me to it AZZenny, this is no trivial matter. Iran has the second highest number of executions after China, and has now found it expedient to hang prisoners after five years detention in some cases. These weren’t political prisoners by the way, which makes this example set by the regime even more callous.



According to human rights group Amnesty International Iran applied the death penalty to 346 people last year, carrying out more executions than any other country apart from China. But it is rare for such a large number of people to be executed in a single day in the Islamic republic...The latest hangings bring to at least 161 the number of people executed in the Islamic republic so far this year, according to an AFP count based on news reports...Tehran says the death penalty is a necessary tool for maintaining public security and is only applied after exhaustive judicial proceedings.


http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5il-zhbvKBqb2ITPTeZBfdDbfpppA

[IraGlacialis]

A leading newspaper editor and pal of Ahmadinejad has called Mousavi and Karroubi American agents and called for their arrest and execution.
Hopefully those two will go successfully under the radar for the time being.
I was about to add "or get out somehow", but I am not sure what such a move will do to the movement.

[ColinP]

It's okay Obama will give them a stern talking to and they will realize the folly of their ways.