Saturday
Oct102009
The Latest from Iran (10 October): The Death Sentences
Saturday, October 10, 2009 at 9:59
NEW Nobel Peace Prize Shock: Ahmadinejad Wins!
Iran’s Power Politics: A Warning To Moscow
Iran: Karroubi Reply to Ahmadinejad’s Appearance on US TV (9 October)
Now, for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize: Mehdi Karroubi
The Latest from Iran (9 October): Almost Four Months
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1920 GMT: A Bit of Official Hesitation? Press TV's website posts an article confirming the death sentences on three post-election detainees: "two are responsible for a deadly bombing and the remaining convict is a member of a terrorist organization". It names only Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani.
Some of the article is repetition of the very thin pretext for conviction: Zamani and the other member [Arash Pour-Ramani] of the "Iran Royal Association" are not tied to any criminal incident; however, "the group is responsible for a deadly bombing in the southern city of Shiraz back in April 2008, in which 13 people were killed and hundreds were wounded". The third detainee [Naser Abdul Hosseini] will die simply because his alleged membership in the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization, the armed wing of the People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran.
Yet, if you read closely, there are a couple of chinks in the article's open-and-shut case. You'll notice in the headline, "In Iran, three 'terrorists' are placed on death row", the quote marks of uncertainty. And the text notes that Ali Zamani's case has been highlighted by Amnesty International.
1630 GMT: A report by AUT News names the three post-election detainees sentenced to death: "monarchists" Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani and Arash Pourrahmani (both of whom are in the mid-August "confession" video run by Press TV, posted in a separate entry) and Naser Abdol Hosseini, alleged to be a member of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran.
1530 GMT: Yahoo! Makes It into State Media. It looks like the allegation over Yahoo! passing 200,000 usernames to Iran authorities will now die down, as there is no verification of the Iranian Students Solidarity Organization's claim of a source inside the Iranian Government. Still, the Islamic Republic News Agency gave the story several paragraphs today.
1520 GMT: Radio Netherlands has posted an English summary of the condemnation by the Dutch Foreign Minister (noted in comments below) of the death sentence for Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani.
1505 GMT: Minutes after we told a BBC radio reporter of the death sentences for post-election detainees, the BBC website adds, from the judiciary official who spoke to the Iranian Students News Agency, that "MZ" (probably Mohammad Ali Reza Zamani) and "AP" had been convicted for ties with the Kingdom Assembly of Iran, a banned monarchist group, and "NA" for links with the People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran, which has sought the overthrow of the Islamic government since 1979.
On Thursday, an Iranian reformist website reported that Mr Zamani, 37, had been sentenced to death. It is unclear whether he is the "MZ" mentioned by Isna.
1445 GMT: Parleman News reports that Mir Hossein Mousavi met Thursday with the representative of Grand Ayatollah Mousavi-Ardebili in Tehran. The description of the discussion is vague, saying that it apparently centred on senior clerics' input into Mousavi's plans for a "social network" for the Green Path of Hope.
1435 GMT: The original Iranian Students News Agency report says only that three post-election detainees have received death sentences. The three cannot be named, according to the newspaper, because appeals are ongoing.
1410 GMT: More Death Sentences? Al Jazeera English, claiming information from Iranian Students News Agency, says a total of three post-election detainees, including Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani, have been sentenced to death by the Tehran Revolutionary Court.
Caution is needed here. We've been following this assertion, first posted by Twitter activists, for several hours. Those reports say three death sentences in addition to Ali Zamani. With the help of readers, we have now found the original ISNA story (see 1435 GMT), but there is no other verification.
0920 GMT: The Persian2English blog has published the English text of a new post-election movement, The Green Thinkers’ Network. Considering "What Is True Freedom For Iran?", the Network writes, "Are we liberal democrats? Is it even necessary to label ourselves with these names? Each name has a history. Why should we carry the history of liberalism on our shoulders? Maybe we can have new customs. In our custom we have religion, but also freedom."
0755 GMT: The Washington Post's alternative to Barack Obama for the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize? Neda Agha Soltan.
0630 GMT: Another quiet start after a relatively gentle Friday, but no doubt that there is one development of significance.
Mehdi Karroubi's letter, posted in the name of his son, to the head of Iran state broadcasting may not seem that dramatic. On the surface, it restates Karroubi's charges of detainee abuse, made since late July, to counter the message of President Ahmadinejad put out on American television. It returns to the battleground of the "enquiry" by the three-member judiciary panel, which unceremoniously threw out Karroubi's claims last month.
But there is a broader message here, both symbolic and very practical. Ahmadinejad might be posing himself on the international stage as Iran's leader, but Karroubi's letter is a reminder that the President has very clay feet. And it comes after weeks in which the Government appeared to have cut off Karroubi's communications. The Etemade Melli newspaper was closed and the website of Karroubi's reformist party was taken down, shutting off the daily drip-drip of allegations that was wearing away the Government authority.
Now the cleric is back, with a resurrected website and the certainty that he is still noticed. He is not mincing words --- Ahmadinejad's "[US] interview was pure lies"; "traitors have viciously attacked me" --- and telling the authorities that he will not be stopped: "The late Imam [Khomeini] said that he would sacrifice his life for the people of this nation."
And the last line of the letter contains pages of meaning, after all the Government attempts to bottle up the opposition in a vacuum of news: "Despite all the efforts, borders have been broken and people have access to information."
Iran’s Power Politics: A Warning To Moscow
Iran: Karroubi Reply to Ahmadinejad’s Appearance on US TV (9 October)
Now, for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize: Mehdi Karroubi
The Latest from Iran (9 October): Almost Four Months
Receive our latest updates by email or RSS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
Buy Us A Cup of Coffee? Help Enduring America Expand Its Coverage and Analysis
1920 GMT: A Bit of Official Hesitation? Press TV's website posts an article confirming the death sentences on three post-election detainees: "two are responsible for a deadly bombing and the remaining convict is a member of a terrorist organization". It names only Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani.Some of the article is repetition of the very thin pretext for conviction: Zamani and the other member [Arash Pour-Ramani] of the "Iran Royal Association" are not tied to any criminal incident; however, "the group is responsible for a deadly bombing in the southern city of Shiraz back in April 2008, in which 13 people were killed and hundreds were wounded". The third detainee [Naser Abdul Hosseini] will die simply because his alleged membership in the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization, the armed wing of the People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran.
Yet, if you read closely, there are a couple of chinks in the article's open-and-shut case. You'll notice in the headline, "In Iran, three 'terrorists' are placed on death row", the quote marks of uncertainty. And the text notes that Ali Zamani's case has been highlighted by Amnesty International.
1630 GMT: A report by AUT News names the three post-election detainees sentenced to death: "monarchists" Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani and Arash Pourrahmani (both of whom are in the mid-August "confession" video run by Press TV, posted in a separate entry) and Naser Abdol Hosseini, alleged to be a member of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran.
1530 GMT: Yahoo! Makes It into State Media. It looks like the allegation over Yahoo! passing 200,000 usernames to Iran authorities will now die down, as there is no verification of the Iranian Students Solidarity Organization's claim of a source inside the Iranian Government. Still, the Islamic Republic News Agency gave the story several paragraphs today.
1520 GMT: Radio Netherlands has posted an English summary of the condemnation by the Dutch Foreign Minister (noted in comments below) of the death sentence for Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani.
1505 GMT: Minutes after we told a BBC radio reporter of the death sentences for post-election detainees, the BBC website adds, from the judiciary official who spoke to the Iranian Students News Agency, that "MZ" (probably Mohammad Ali Reza Zamani) and "AP" had been convicted for ties with the Kingdom Assembly of Iran, a banned monarchist group, and "NA" for links with the People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran, which has sought the overthrow of the Islamic government since 1979.
On Thursday, an Iranian reformist website reported that Mr Zamani, 37, had been sentenced to death. It is unclear whether he is the "MZ" mentioned by Isna.
1445 GMT: Parleman News reports that Mir Hossein Mousavi met Thursday with the representative of Grand Ayatollah Mousavi-Ardebili in Tehran. The description of the discussion is vague, saying that it apparently centred on senior clerics' input into Mousavi's plans for a "social network" for the Green Path of Hope.
1435 GMT: The original Iranian Students News Agency report says only that three post-election detainees have received death sentences. The three cannot be named, according to the newspaper, because appeals are ongoing.
1410 GMT: More Death Sentences? Al Jazeera English, claiming information from Iranian Students News Agency, says a total of three post-election detainees, including Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani, have been sentenced to death by the Tehran Revolutionary Court.
Caution is needed here. We've been following this assertion, first posted by Twitter activists, for several hours. Those reports say three death sentences in addition to Ali Zamani. With the help of readers, we have now found the original ISNA story (see 1435 GMT), but there is no other verification.
0920 GMT: The Persian2English blog has published the English text of a new post-election movement, The Green Thinkers’ Network. Considering "What Is True Freedom For Iran?", the Network writes, "Are we liberal democrats? Is it even necessary to label ourselves with these names? Each name has a history. Why should we carry the history of liberalism on our shoulders? Maybe we can have new customs. In our custom we have religion, but also freedom."
0755 GMT: The Washington Post's alternative to Barack Obama for the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize? Neda Agha Soltan.
0630 GMT: Another quiet start after a relatively gentle Friday, but no doubt that there is one development of significance.
Mehdi Karroubi's letter, posted in the name of his son, to the head of Iran state broadcasting may not seem that dramatic. On the surface, it restates Karroubi's charges of detainee abuse, made since late July, to counter the message of President Ahmadinejad put out on American television. It returns to the battleground of the "enquiry" by the three-member judiciary panel, which unceremoniously threw out Karroubi's claims last month.
But there is a broader message here, both symbolic and very practical. Ahmadinejad might be posing himself on the international stage as Iran's leader, but Karroubi's letter is a reminder that the President has very clay feet. And it comes after weeks in which the Government appeared to have cut off Karroubi's communications. The Etemade Melli newspaper was closed and the website of Karroubi's reformist party was taken down, shutting off the daily drip-drip of allegations that was wearing away the Government authority.
Now the cleric is back, with a resurrected website and the certainty that he is still noticed. He is not mincing words --- Ahmadinejad's "[US] interview was pure lies"; "traitors have viciously attacked me" --- and telling the authorities that he will not be stopped: "The late Imam [Khomeini] said that he would sacrifice his life for the people of this nation."
And the last line of the letter contains pages of meaning, after all the Government attempts to bottle up the opposition in a vacuum of news: "Despite all the efforts, borders have been broken and people have access to information."
tagged AUT News, Amnesty International, Arash Pourrahmani, Ayatollah Mousavi-Ardebili, BBC, Etemade Melli, Green Path of Hope, Green Thinkers' Network, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Iranian Students News Agency, Iranian Students Solidarity Organization, Kingdom Assembly of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mujahedin-e-Khalq, Naser Abdol Hosseini, Neda Agha Soltan, Parleman News, People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran, Persian2English, Washington Post, Yahoo in Middle East & Iran
AUT News, Amnesty International, Arash Pourrahmani, Ayatollah Mousavi-Ardebili, BBC, Etemade Melli, Green Path of Hope, Green Thinkers' Network, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Iranian Students News Agency, Iranian Students Solidarity Organization, Kingdom Assembly of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mujahedin-e-Khalq, Naser Abdol Hosseini, Neda Agha Soltan, Parleman News, People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran, Persian2English, Washington Post, Yahoo in Middle East & Iran
Reader Comments (7)
Mehdi Karroubi’s letter is addressed to the head of Iran state broadcasting, Ezatollah Zarghami. Mowjcamp.com's English site has an article on this much-hated figure: http://english.mowjcamp.com/article/id/45425
From the website of the Dutch Ministery of Foreign Affairs http://www.minbuza.nl/nl/Actueel/Nieuwsberichten/2009/10/Nederland_spreekt_afschuw_uit_over_doodvonnis_Iraanse_demonstrant
Translated with Google
Netherlands expresses its abhorrence at the death sentence in Iran has imposed to a participant in the massive protests that erupted following the disputed presidential election this summer.
"This sentence doesn't belong in a modern society, where people should be able to in a peaceful way to express their opinion," said Minister Maxime Verhagen (Foreign Affairs). Together with its European counterparts, it urges the Iranian authorities to revoke the sentence.
Independent observers have expressed serious doubts about the fairness of the procedure. Netherlands in the European context has been repeatedly expressed concern about the mass arrest and torture of protesters and the show processes which have been followed.
Netherlands is a principle opponent of the imposition and execution of the death penalty anywhere in the world. In some countries, the Netherlands supports civil society organizations committed to abolition.
Scott, Arshama did you hear about this elesewhere in the past few days ?
1700 workers on hunger strike over unpaid wages
http://www.zamaaneh.com/enzam/2009/10/1700-workers-on-hunger-st.html
and a piece on the 'new and tougher sanctions' line, focused on IRCG's economy
'New Iran sanctions could strengthen Rev. Guard '
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/10/10/international/i075545D24.DTL
AFP also released a communiqué (Iran probes Revolutionary Guard
'ties' to telecoms sale) IRCG becomes more and more mentioned in
global medias these days.
Yes, Yseut, Waggon Pars workers are unpaid for 6 months and already went on strike in August: http://hopoi.org/?p=599
As they have been paid only partially since, they started a hunger strike:
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4778781,00.html
ILNA confirms the number of 1700 workers, who went on hunger strike after their 9th protest meeting: http://www.ilna.ir/%28S%28floyh255tiwyb1ytr0uuak55%29%29/newstext.aspx?ID=81793
Strikes have become normal during the past years, Deutsche Welle and other news agencies mention companies like Haft Tappeh (sugar cane), Alborz tire or the Spinning factory in Ghazvin, to mention only a few.
Constant mismanagement and corruption and economic sanctions are the main reasons for the ongoing decline of Iran's economy.
New sanctions could strengthen the IRGC, but as they continue to take control of all major economies in Iran they could face protests from traditionally conservative Bazaaris as well. I don't know if they are still as powerful as 30 years ago, when they supported Khomeini.
Adding to Yseut and Arshama:
Major LNG project has huge problems, 6000 are unemployed, there are financial problems,contacts are falling through because contacts very often without formalities (in other words not a contract) and are currently trying to do a deal with the French and Indian's to continue work (refer to PressTV for info on deals with French & India)
http://www.hayateno.info/Detail.aspx?cid=155624&catid=491
also on press the govt. want to privatize the ports too, is this another pie for the IRCG to stick their fingers in?
@Arshama, Janette Thanx for the data & links, i didn't know
the hopoi blog. About the bazaaris and their potential of protest : i guess
that's why many tweets speak about arrests and rumours of threats
spreading (against support to protesters) in bazaars...
I hope , all these financial problems in iranian's companies are not a stategie of AN and his allies so that the IRGC could buy them for a song !! ( pour une bouchée de pain ), an artificial problem to reach their target and pay a low price