Friday
Apr232010
The Latest from Iran (23 April): Rounding Up the News
Friday, April 23, 2010 at 13:10 
2000 GMT: Consolation and Persistence. Mehdi Karroubi has visited Mostafa Tajzadeh, the former Deputy Minister of Interior, at his home. Tajzadeh, formally sentenced to six years in prison last week, had been in intensive care because of serious health issues.1800 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Green Voice of Freedom carries a summary from human rights activists of prison sentences, including death penalties, for 27 detainees.
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Iran Document: Detained Nourizad’s Letter to Khamenei “We Have Lost Our People”
Iran Document: Ayatollah Sane’i “Some Want Islam For Their Own Agendas”
The Latest from Iran (22 April): This Isn’t Over
On the other side of the watch, journalist and human rights activist Davoud Khokarami was released on Monday after two days of detention.
Statement of the Day
Mir Hossein Mousavi has offered another statement in a meeting with the National-Religious Front.
Mousavi said that the only way for realising national interests an ideal society was through a Green Movement that "pursues goals which are a reflection of the values, will and demands of the Iranian people”. He asserted, “We should pursue the creation of an interlinked civil society through the use of all the available resources in the country.”
Recalling the rise of the protest movement within hours of the Presidential election, Mousavi said, “The events that took place last year in Tehran on 15 June and the compassionate and sympathetic presence of the people along with tolerance, patience and cooperation and the protesters’ civil action set an example and standard for an ideal society”.
Framing the political challenge as a long-term process, Mousavi said, "The task ahead is immense and the path of the Green Movement is a lengthy one with many twists and turns; even if the Movement succeeds in its goals sooner than what many people expect, we must have patience and perseverance and to live with the Movement in order for it to persist.”
He concluded, “It should become apparent for everyone that we are seeking our national interests; this is not a question of selfishness. We do not want to stand beside tyranny and the tyrant. We stand by the oppressed.”
Earthquake Watch
The regime's statement of the day comes from Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, head of the Guardian Council at Tehran Friday Prayers. He has repeated the certainty, offered at last week's service by Hojatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi, that immorality such as provocative dress and adultery causes natural disasters: "We can avoid earthquakes if the faithful and devoted people pray to God."
Not sure everyone is taking this as seriously as they should, however. A "Boobquake" group has been established on Facebook to "prove boobs don't cause earthquakes"
Denial of Day
Members of Mehdi Karroubi's camp have dismissed rumours that the cleric is in ill health.
Warning the Reformists
Mohammad Abbaszadeh Meshkini, the Secretary General of Parliament's Article 10 Commission, has said that if the Mojahedin of Islamic. Revolution party and the Islamic Iran Participation Front continue their activities, "they will get trouble".
Iranian authorities have denied, however, that there are restrictions on the overseas travel of former President Mohammad Khatami. Last week Khatami cancelled an appearance at a disarmament conference in Japan, claiming he was pressured not to fly.
The Nuclear Front
Diplomats say Iran has agreed to more extensive monitoring of its nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
A Ringing Endorsement. As President Ahmadinejad visits his country, Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has backed Iran's "just cause" in pursuit of nuclear power.
Economy Watch
Alireza Marandi, the former Minister of Health, has asserted that only 15% of the Ahmadinejad Fourth Plan's health projects have been realised.
Political Prisoner Watch
A death sentence has been handed down to Habibollah Golparipour, an Iranian Kurd, because of "mohareb" (war against God).
Rah-e-Sabz notes that in the month of Farvardin, which has just ended, a total of almost 73 years in prison sentences were handed down for supporters of the Green Movement.
Culture Ups and Downs
Maziar Bahari, the Iranian-Canadian journalist detained for months during the post-election crisis, has been honoured by a German organisation. He will collect the award on 7 May.
Forough Farrokhzad, one of Iran's most distinguished writers, has been banned from the country''s Book of Poets.
tagged Adultery, Alireza Marandi, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, Davoud Khokarami, Earthquakes, Facebook, Forough Farrokhzad, Green Movement, Green Voice of Freedom, Habibollah Golparipour, Hojatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Islamic Iran Participation Front, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Maziar Bahari, Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mohammad Abbaszadeh Meshkini, Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution, Mostafa Tajzadeh, National Religious Front, Rah-e-Sabz, Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe in Middle East & Iran
Adultery, Alireza Marandi, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, Davoud Khokarami, Earthquakes, Facebook, Forough Farrokhzad, Green Movement, Green Voice of Freedom, Habibollah Golparipour, Hojatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Islamic Iran Participation Front, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Maziar Bahari, Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mohammad Abbaszadeh Meshkini, Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution, Mostafa Tajzadeh, National Religious Front, Rah-e-Sabz, Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe in Middle East & Iran 
