Category: Reports on Iran and Democracy

Iran Protest News: July 30, 2009

Iran police beat opposition sympathizers at graveside memorial
— “Iranian police have used force at a Tehran cemetery to stop crowds rallying at the grave of a protester Neda Agha-Soltan who died in demonstrations after the disputed presidential election”
— Iran police arrest mourners in cemetery memorial

(Iran) Arshin Adib-Moghaddam says Iranian protesters fighting for “Islamic Republic”
— regarding Martin Amis, “He should note that the protesters are shouting Allah-u-Akbar”

(Iran) Francis Fukuyama’s on Iran’s future: evolve towards “supreme court that could pass judgment on the consistency of legislation with Shariah”
— states Noah Feldman’s view of Sharia law is for “respected Islamic rules of justice — Islamic rule of law”

Iran Protest News: July 26, 2009

(Iran) Mir Hossein Mousavi plans memorial for victims of election violence

(Iran) Revolutionary Guard tightens hold in Iran crisis

(Iran) Another Iran protester dies in jail: Report
— “An Iranian student arrested in protests against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election has died in jail, a newspaper said today, the
second such death reported in recent days. ”
— “Amir Javadifar, “a student of industrial management in Qazvin (city) died in prison,” the reformist Etemad newspaper said, adding that his family has been asked to come for the body today morning.”
— “Etemad said Javadifar had been arrested in July 9 protests and had injuries in his arm and nose but it did not elaborate on the cause of death.”
— “Newspapers reported yesterday that Mohsen Ruholamini, 25, who had also been arrested on July 9 when thousands of protesters took to the streets on the anniversary of a bloody student uprising in 1999, also died in custody.”

“In Iran Friday Sermon, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami Highlights ‘Velayat-e Faqih,’ Criticizes Ahmadinejad’s Appointment of Father-In-Law As Senior VP, Calls New Gov’t Legitimate, and Stresses Foreign Involvement in Elections and Protests”

(Iran) Senate OKs funds to thwart Iran Web censors
— “The Victim of Iranian Censorship, or VOICE, Act, was added to the Senate’s defense-authorization bill Thursday evening as a response to mass protests following Iran’s disputed June 12 presidential elections and amid concerns that Western companies have sold Iran technology used to monitor dissidents”

Iran: two protesters die in Iranian jail – Mohsen Ruholamini and Amir Javadifar

(Iran) Another Iran protester dies in jail: Report
— “An Iranian student arrested in protests against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election has died in jail, a newspaper said today, the
second such death reported in recent days. ”
— “Amir Javadifar, “a student of industrial management in Qazvin (city) died in prison,” the reformist Etemad newspaper said, adding that his family has been asked to come for the body today morning.”
— “Etemad said Javadifar had been arrested in July 9 protests and had injuries in his arm and nose but it did not elaborate on the cause of death.”
— “Newspapers reported yesterday that Mohsen Ruholamini, 25, who had also been arrested on July 9 when thousands of protesters took to the streets on the anniversary of a bloody student uprising in 1999, also died in custody.”

Iran: Human rights lawyer Shadi Sadr reportedly arrested

— Iran: Human rights lawyer Shadi Sadr reportedly arrested
— “Prominent lawyer, women’s rights activist and journalist Shadi Sadr was arrested by plainclothes policemen on her way to Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s much-anticipated Friday sermon, according to several reformist websites.”
— “The activist group blog Mothers of Laleh reported that Sadr was walking with several other female activists when she was approached by individuals in civilian dress who refused to show a warrant before forcing her into a waiting car.”
— “Sadr, who also edits the Farsi news website womeniniran.com, was arrested and held for two weeks in 2007. She has clashed with authorities numerous times over her outspoken stance on women’s rights and capital punishment.”

— CNN: Group: Human rights lawyer detained as Iran unrest spirals
— “Government agents used tear gas to disperse demonstrators, and beat and kidnapped a human rights lawyer, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said Saturday, citing witnesses.”
— “The advocacy group said human rights lawyer Shadi Sadr, who was walking with friends to Friday prayers, was confronted by people dressed in civilian clothes. They pushed her into a car and drove off, the group said, citing witnesses.”
— “In a subsequent telephone call to her husband, Sadr said she had been arrested and detained in ward 209 of Tehran’s Evin prison, the group said.”

— Wikipedia: Women’s rights in Iran
— “Despite the heavy participation of women in the Islamic Iranian Revolution of 1979, their rights of dress, employment, movement (by sex segregation) were severely curtailed by the new government under Ayatollah Khomeni.”
— “In the 1990s women began to make small political gains, and in 1997 they heavily voted for the reformist cleric Mohammed Khatami for President who appointed reformists to high positions, including one female vice-president. However, under the administration of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad women’s rights advocates have been beaten, jailed and persecuted,and the use of Siqeh — or temporary marriages considered by many a form of legalized prostitution — promoted.”

Iran: Singer gets five-year jail term by Extermists

Iran singer gets five-year jail term
— “An Iranian singer, Mohsen Namjoo, has been sentenced in absentia to a five-year jail term for ridiculing the Koran holy book in a song, reformist daily Etemad Melli reported on Tuesday.”
— “‘He was sentenced on June 9 to five years in jail for insulting sanctities, ridiculing the Koran and dishonouring the holy book of the Muslims,’ it quoted a Koran expert and plaintiff in the case, Abbas Salimi Namin, as saying.”
— “Fars news agency, quoting an unnamed judge involved in the case, said Namjoo who has moved to Vienna was convicted for ‘his unconventional singing of the Koran,’ in a private recording four years ago.”
— “Namjoo, who fuses traditional Iranian music with pop and jazz, has also sang in solidarity with protesters who took to the streets after the Islamic republic’s disputed June 12 presidential election.”

Iranian Christian leader fears more violence – killing of “Iranians who’ve left the Islamic faith”

(Iran) Colorado Springs Iranian Christian leader fears more violence
— KOAA reports: “The Colorado Springs leader of the group ‘Iranian Christians International’ fears the violence in Iran may get worse.”
— “ICI tries to help Christians who are being persecuted in Iran. Abe Ghaffari is the president of ICI. He became a Christian, fled Iran and founded the international group to help Iranians who’ve left the Islamic faith.”
— “‘Just like you see the protestors in the streets of Tehran, they are taking their lives into their hands so to speak, these Muslims who become Christians, they have no protection under the Islamic constitution of Iran,’ he told News First.”
— “He says Muslims who convert to Christianity in Iran can be killed and the murderer not punished.”