The Latest from Iran (10 December): Human Rights Day

2235 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. There is still no news of three people detained during a memorial ceremony at Behesht-e Zahra cemetery last Sunday.

Other mourners, including Parvin Fahimi, the mother of the slain protestor Sohrab Arabi, were seized but later released.

Journalist Mashallah Shamsolvaezin has been sentenced to 16 months in prison on charges of insulting the President.

In an interview with Al Arabiya television, Shamsolvaezin said Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was "repressive" and "a lunatic".

Shamsolvaezin is spokesman for the Iranian Committee for the Defense of Freedom of the Press, and also as vice president of the Association of Iranian Journalists.

Click to read more ...

Thailand Special: Documents Prove Military Killed Civilians in Temple (Szep/Ahuja)

The Thai military played a larger role in the killing of civilians during political unrest in Bangkok this year than officials have acknowledged, leaked state documents show.

 A preliminary state probe into political violence in April and May concluded Thai special forces positioned on an elevated railway track fired into the grounds of a Buddhist temple where several thousand protesters had taken refuge on May 19.

Three of six people shot dead at the temple were likely killed by troops, the investigation found, directly contradicting statements by the Thai military, which has denied soldiers were responsible for the killings at the temple.

Click to read more ...

Iran Special: The Latest on the Non-Release of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani

Information from EA sources indicates that Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, condemned to death for adultery, has NOT been released from prison.

The news that she had been freed followed images of Ashtiani and her son Sajad Ghaderzadeh --- who has also been detained since September --- in their home in northwestern Iran. Soon, however, another story emerged: Sakineh had been escorted from prison to home to make another televised "confession" of adultery and complicity in the murder of her husband.

Here is what we have learned:

The pictures of Ashtiani and Ghaderzadeh are from a trailer (commercial) for the Iran Today programme, which is broadcast on Fridays, on Press TV. EA sources in the Iranian state media say Ashtiani was taken "temporarily" out of prison for the programme, which will report how she contributed to the murder of her husband. (Thus, the report last night that she is saying in the trailer, "We planned to kill my husband.")

Click to read more ...

Israel-Palestine Analysis: Washington's "New Strategy" and the Palestinian Response

Challenging the new US line on settlements, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas warned that there would be no talks with Israel unless there was a halt to settlement building.

Having obtained the support of the Arab League and Egypt, Abbas does not want to take a step back on the settlements. Indeed, he may be going on the offensive. The London-based daily Asharq al-Awsat reported on Thursday that Abbas had "given a green light" to his aides to ask the UN to recognize a unilaterally-declared Palestinian state; however, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit asked the Palestinian leadership to give Washington another chance.

Click to read more ...

Iran Breaking: Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani --- Is It Freedom or Another Confession?

We have returned from a break to find confusion over the situation of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman condemned to death for adultery and then for complicity in the murder of her husband, and Ashtiani's son Sajad Ghaderzadeh, who was arrested in September while giving an interview to German journalists about his mother.

Click to read more ...

Iran Interview: Parvin Fahimi "Who Killed These Youngsters in Their Own Country?"

Parvin Fahimi is the mother of Sohrab Arabi, a 19-year-old youth who was martyred on 20 June 2009 in last year's post-election protests.She offered these comments in an interview with our colleague Masih Alinejad:

I never say I want only what is right for my own son, because every time I go to the Behesht Zahra cemetery, I see other Sohrabs who were murdered, I see other Amir Yussefzadehs, Moharam Cheginis, Ali Reza Eftekharis, Ashkan Sohrabis, Saeed Abbassis, Kianoosh Asas, Abbas Disnaads, Ramin Ramezanis and many more who are buried in other sections and can not all be named here. I wish they would answer, "Who killed these youngsters in their own country?

Click to read more ...

Wikileaks and Afghanistan: US Embassy Protects Contractors Over Hiring of Child Prostitutes

The Guardian of London's headline for this June 2009 cable shelters in an euphemism, albeit in leading quote marks: "Afghan government asks US to quash 'dancing boys' scandal".

The actual subject matter, as the EA source who pointed us to the cable notes, is the hiring of child prostitutes by the American contractor DynCorp.

Click to read more ...

Iran Document: For the Dead, For Political Prisoners --- "We Are All Leyla Tavassoli"

We are all Leyla Tavassoli and we all bear witness to the fact that you the oppressors have incarcerated the innocent witnesses of your crimes while allowing the murderers to roam free; but know this too, it is not just us the Leyla Tavassolis that have stood witness to your crimes, but history that will once again prove that the likes of you have never prevailed and it is a divine promise that this injustice will not last and is on its way out.

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (9 December): A Return to "Normal"

1710 GMT: We are going to take an early break this evening to join Ms EA at the theatre. As usual, I'm leaving the updates in the capable hands of our readers for late-breaking news and analysis.

1620 GMT: No Contradiction Here. The headline in Etelaat newspaper, 7 December: "Low Fuel Quality Main Reason for Smog". Headline in Etelaat, 8 December: "High Quality Fuel a Huge Domestic Success".

1605 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch (Censorship Edition). An EA source alerts us....

On Sunday night, pages and copies of the newspaper Iran were confiscated because of an article by executive director Kaveh Eshtehardi defending Mehdi Hashemi, the son of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani. The seizures were ordered by Tehran Public Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi. Doulatabadi also warned other newspaper not to print any material identifying Hashemi by name.

.

Groups within the regime are seeking the trial of Hashemi on charges of fraud and electoral manipulation, and an arrest warrant has been issued for him. He has been in London since summer 2009.

Click to read more ...

WikiLeaks CyberWar Update: Visa, MasterCard Sites Still Off-Line

For earlier updates, see Wednesday's story....

UPDATE 1640 GMT: Tweet of the Day. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley has tweeted, as the Department opens World Press Freedom Day, "No country believes in press freedom more than the United States. We practice what we preach."

UPDATE 1555 GMT:  WikiLeaks has issued a statement:  "These denial of service attacks are believed to have originated from an internet gathering known as Anonymous. This group is not affiliated with WikiLeaks. There has been no contact between any Wikileaks staffer and anyone at Anonymous. WikiLeaks has not received any prior notice of any of Anonymous’ actions.  Wikileaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson said: 'We neither condemn nor applaud these attacks. We believe they are a reflection of public opinion on the actions of the targets.'”

Click to read more ...