Iran's Detained Journalists: EA's (Vicarious) Confrontation with Foreign Minister Mottaki

On Saturday, thanks to our German Bureau, we posted a list of 101 journalists who have been detained during the post-election crisis. Imagine my surprise when an EA reader sent me evidence of how quickly and how far that list may have spread. An extract from an interview by Austria's Die Presse of Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who was in Vienna for discussion of Tehran's nuclear programme:

Iran: The List of 101 Journalists Who Have Been Jailed
The Latest from Iran (27 April): An Opposition Wave?

Die Presse: Iran must make a credible case that the nuclear program is for civilian purposes.

Mottaki: What should we do? We have agreed a few years ago the position of all our nuclear activities, we have agreed to cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency. What did we get in return? Nothing. We have no interest in nuclear weapons. When Iraq used poison gas against our soldiers, did we respond with weapons of mass destruction? No. Weapons of mass destruction are not part of our defense doctrine.

Die Presse: Another issue I have here a list of the names of more than 100 imprisoned journalists and political analysts. Amnesties and releases were a gesture of good will.

Mottaki: Stick to the nuclear issue.

Iran: The Purge of the Professors (Theodoulou)

Michael Theodoulou reports for The National:

Saba Vasefi was popular with most of her students, but not surprised when she was abruptly dismissed without explanation from her post at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran.

The professor and human rights activist had been warned on four occasions by university authorities that they were not happy with her using words such as “execution”, “woman” and “victim” in her classes and lectures.

The Latest from Iran (27 April): An Opposition Wave?

No matter that Ms Vasefi, who at 28 is barely older than some of her students and younger than others, was mostly discussing old Persian literary texts. What seems to have upset the authorities was that she drew parallels between human rights abuses centuries ago and those in present-day Iran.

“There are other professors I know who received the same warning,” Ms Vasefi said. She is owed three semesters’ pay.



At least three other professors have been dismissed from Iranian universities this month on what human rights activists say were also political grounds, either for expressing different viewpoints from the government or for supporting student protesters.

The purge appears set to intensify. Many analysts and rights activists fear that the regime is determined to accelerate a creeping “cultural revolution”.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s president, first called for a purge of liberal professors and secular academic staff in 2006, a year after he came to power. Since then, at least 50 professors expressing independent views have been sacked for political reasons, according to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, an NGO based in New York and the Netherlands.

But last month there was an ominous new warning from Iran’s minister of science, research and technology. Kamran Dansehjoo proclaimed that faculty members who do not “share the regime’s direction”, and who do not have “practical commitment to velayat-e faqih” – rule of the supreme leader – would be dismissed.

Universities are viewed by the jittery regime as incubators of the political dissent that has gripped the country since Mr Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election last June.

“It’s clear they feel the universities are the hub of the problem and they want to sort it out,” said Ali Ansari, a professor of Iranian history at St Andrews University in Scotland. “It seems that they are going after a fully-fledged cultural revolution.”

Aaron Rhodes, a spokesman for the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, describes the regime’s actions as “an attempted cultural coup”.

The state, he said, is “forcing ideology down the throats of the civil population, trying to control ideas and beliefs”. It has not succeeded “other than ruining careers and institutions”.

Sackings aside, many academics have paid a heavy price. Those who attended conferences abroad in recent years were often lambasted at home. Some were arrested on charges of trying to foment a “velvet” revolution.

In September, just weeks before Iranian universities re-opened after a summer of unprecedented unrest, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, expressed concern that nearly two million of Iran’s 3.8 million students in higher education were majoring in social sciences.

“If we teach a copy of what westerners have said and written to our young people, then we are conveying to them both doubt and disbelief in Islamic principles in our values,” he said.

The High Council for Cultural Revolution, in charge of drafting academic policies, promptly ordered a “revision” of social science subjects. Hardline senior aides of Ayatollah Khamenei at the same time pledged to purge universities of western influences and to “Islamise” humanities curricula.

Not all of the professors who were dismissed have been from social sciences or liberal arts backgrounds.

One sacked this month was a professor of telecommunications, the other of electrical engineering. Both had spoken out in support of dissenting students beaten in December by plain-clothes security forces who had entered their campus.

Iranian academics outside the Islamic republic say they have few details about the extent of the dismissal or “retirement” of university professors.

“Clearly, even the public discussion of ‘secular influences’ at universities is intended to intimidate professors who have been politically active in support of Ahmadinejad’s opponents, even if it does not lead to their outright dismissal”, Farideh Farhi, a renowned Iran scholar at the University of Hawaii, said.

The clampdown on huge street protests ignited by Mr Ahmadinejad’s re-election made global headlines last summer. Less noticed, but potentially more significant, is the repression at Iran’s universities.

“They’re trying to rip out from the roots the intellectual base of the country,” Prof Ansari said. “It will radicalise students further. You have a critical mass now in Iran that simply don’t believe what they’re being told any more.”

Iran’s huge student population is already boiling. Thousands were arrested during and after last summer’s street protests and some have been sentenced to jail terms of up to 15 years. Others were banished entirely from higher education and many were suspended and made to pledge that they would abandon political activity.

Iranian universities, cradles of political activism since the shah’s time, were shut down for nearly three years after the 1979 Islamic revolution during a “cultural revolution”. The aim was to Islamise campuses and curricula, “purifying” them of western influence.

Scores of lecturers were sacked and students ejected after being perceived to be leftist or liberal.

The experiment failed: the student population remained thirsty for modern ideas and intellectual dialogue with the West.

Analysts and academics are confident that today’s less dramatic but more insidious efforts by the regime to censure and “cleanse” certain university faculties and curb freedom of thought are similarly doomed.

Strait-jacketing the teaching of social and political sciences while intimidating liberal-minded professors and students will not extinguish the desire for social reform and change, they say.

“Iranian scholars, artists and other intellectuals have managed an independent and diverse course of development: they are not susceptible to crude manipulation,” said Mr Rhodes. “The attempted cultural coup has not thwarted intellectual freedom or a commitment of teaching and research.”

Moreover, purging curricula of western social theory and literature risks further radicalising many middle-class students who were politically awakened only by last year’s presidential election.

The government’s policies will also “debase Iran’s universities, long a source of national pride and admiration by scholars around the world”, said Mr Rhodes.

And it will inevitably “mean an exodus of qualified academics seeking employment abroad”, added Prof Ansari.

Iraq: Is This A Case of "Where is My Vote"? (Visser)

It is now seven weeks after Iraq's national election, and the democratic process has now evolved/devolved into a series of legal and political manoeuvres by rival factions to weaken their opponents. Reidar Visser reports on the latest developments:

Iraq’s powerful de-Baathification committee has dealt another blow to the idea of democracy in Iraq: After many conflicting reports over the weekend, it is becoming increasingly clear that the board’s attempt to de-Baathify 55 of the replacement candidates for other candidates that were themselves de-Baathified has been sustained by the special judicial board for the elections, along with an acceptance of its proposal to annul the personal votes for these candidates instead of transferring them to their [party's] list.

With respect to the politics of this, the de-Baathification committee...is largely controlled by the pro-Iranian Iraqi National Alliance, whereas the special judicial board for the elections is seen as leaning towards Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki after its decision to allow a Baghdad recount. The main victim of these decisions, Iraqiyya [led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and the coalition with the largest number of Parliamentary seats from the elections], has no significant influence in either body. The Kurdish chief of the elections commission (IHEC), Faraj al-Haydari, had previously expressed his distaste for the idea of annulling the votes altogether.


Because of the messy process in which candidates were struck from the ballots right until the last minute, it is still unclear exactly which individuals are subject to the new decision. Seat-winning candidates that could be in trouble include Ibrahim al-Mutlak, the replacement candidate for Salih al-Mutlak [the head of the Iraqi Front for National Dialogue, the second largest Sunni party], who got some 5,400 personal votes and a seat in Baghdad. The same situation may possibly apply for candidate number two for Iraqiyya in Anbar, another Mutlak (Hamid Abid), who was not listed on most IHEC lists prior to the election and therefore may have also been a replacement candidate --– in this case representing some 14,700 personal votes.

Crucially, these examples show that this is about more than candidates –-- it is also about voters. Here we have two examples and some 20,000 Iraqis whose votes may simply be stolen from them, according to procedures that are not based on any law or even any IHEC regulation. In particular, the decision to penalise voters who used the open-list system, annulling their active use of the ballot (a passive list vote would not have been cancelled), risks putting the whole idea of democracy in disrepute in Iraq.

The de-Baathified candidates have been given one month to complain the decision – another ad hoc legal concoction by IHEC and something which firmly pushes certification of the results towards June, regardless of what happens to the Baghdad recount as well as further demands for recounts by the Kurds in some of the northern governorates (which apparently remain pending).

Iran Document: Mehdi Karroubi "We Will Make The Nation Victorious"

From Karroubi website Saham News, translated by the Facebook page supporting Mir Hossein Mousavi:

Mehdi Karroubi in a meeting with a group of former members of Parliament emphasized: “Resistance against breaking the law and efforts in trying to return the constitution’s rule to the country will for sure defeat them (hardliners) and will make the nation victorious.”

Karroubi also stressed: “Promoting awareness is the responsibility of every one of us.” He warned, “The evidences indicate that a new wave of psychological warfare has started.” He added, “The political parties are essential for a country. One cannot govern a country by shutting down political parties.”

Iran: The Mousavi 4-Point Message “Who Defends the Islamic Republic?”
The Latest from Iran (26 April): Points of View

Karroubi, pointing out the recent threats by hardliners aimed at those reformist members of Parliament who visited him and Mir Hossein Mousavi for the Persian New Year, said, “They [the Government] are after gaining full control over the parliament and showing that the members of Parliament are useless [by themselves].”


Those reformist members of Parliament who have visited Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi or raised concerns over the results of the presidential elections have been confronted and threatened with disqualification in the next election by the Guardian Council.

Karroubi added, “Opposition to Freedom and the republic of the people is not written on the forehead of anyone so that it can be determined easily, but rather it can be determined according to the actions of individuals. Aren’t confronting the Parliament and downgrading its high stature [as in the Ahmadinejad battle with the Majlis over subsidy cuts], the same as ignoring people’s votes?"

The former speaker of the parliament, addressed the hardliners, stressed: “Wake up! Here is Iran, and you are Iranians. It has been more than a hundred years since this nation's movement toward democracy started.”

Mehdi Karroubi warned the authorities, “The fact that you think by intimidation and creating atmosphere of fear you can gain control over Parliament and govern the country shows your lack of political wisdom as well as your disorganized minds and your incompetence in managing the country."

At the end, Karroubi, by honouring Teachers’ Week and Workers’ Day, congratulated all teachers and workers and prayed for the prosperity of these two hard-working classes of society and that their problems would be solved soon.

The Latest from Iran (26 April): Points of View

2030 GMT: Economy Watch. Mohammad Nabi-Habibi, the Secretary General of the conservative Islamic Coalition Party, has said that the government has not had any major achievement in the privatization process: “Over the recent years, some works have been done to privatize the state-run organizations and strengthen the private sector, but the steps have not yielded any notable result so far."

NEW Iran Document: Mehdi Karroubi “We Will Make The Nation Victorious”
NEW Iran: The Mousavi 4-Point Message "Who Defends the Islamic Republic?"
NEW Iran Exclusive: A Birthday Message to Detained Journalist Baghi from His Daughter
Iran Special: Tehran, Defender of Women’s Rights (P.S. Don’t Mention Boobquake
Iran: The Green Movement and the Labour Movement (Assadi)
Iran: Hyping the Threat from Tehran (Walt)
The Latest from Iran (25 April): Build-Up

2025 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Sama Nourani of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters has reportedly been released on bail.


2015 GMT: Our colleague Josh Shahryar has a new opinion piece at The Huffington Post, "Iranian Diaspora Needs to Act": "What the Green Movement urgently needs from the Iranian Diaspora, especially in the United States, is to come together and form a strong voice of political support for the cause of Iran's democratization - if not outright liberalization."

1525 GMT: Ahmadinejad "Look Over There!" Speaking to Iran's police officers, the President today denounced "satanic tools" of oppression.

This may have initially shocked his audience, but eventually it became clear that Ahmadinejad was not referring to them. Instead, his target was nuclear weapons, military invasions, and the veto power granted to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. The President continued, "America belittles nations, and questions human values, whereas valuing humanity requires culture. Belittling nations only reaps inflexibility, distance, and malice."

1515 GMT: The Der Spiegel Profile of Karroubi (With a Bonus Surprise). The German magazine's piece on Mehdi Karroubi is now out --- it's more a portrayal than an interview --- and features the cleric's defiance, "The people are just waiting for a spark....I am prepared to accept all consequences."

The surprise,however, is not in the Karroubi material: to be honest, we've heard it before from the resolute opposition figure. Instead, the twist comes in an insert on another Presidential candidate, the "conservative" Mohsen Rezaei:

Does he see himself as an alternative to Ahmadinejad? The corners of Rezaei's mouth turn up in a slight smile: "I will serve my people where I can."

The retired general prefers to avoid critical questions, and seems intent on stirring his tea, as if the sugar could somehow solve his loyalty problems. Like Karroubi, Rezaei refers to "Dr. Ahmadinejad" and avoids using the word president. And like Karroubi the reformer, Rezaei the conservative says: "It can't go on like this."

1450 GMT: Over to You, Dr Rahnavard. And now it's Zahra Rahnavard putting out a declaration. She calls on the Government to free all imprisoned workers and teachers and to hold free and democratic elections.

1445 GMT: We have now posted a full English-translated version of Mehdi Karroubi's statement to former reformist members of Parliament, "We Will Make The Nation Victorious”.

1345 GMT: Karroubi Fights Back. Mehdi Karroubi's website Saham News carries a summary of his latest discussion with former reformist members of Parliament. The cleric, who had to deal with false rumours of his ill health last week, denounced the "new wave of psychological warfare" of the regime. He has promised that, despite this campaign, the opposition's resistance will only increase.
1245 GMT: Photo of the Day. Reformist leader and former Minister of the Interior Mostafa Tajzadeh is surrounded by supporters and well-wishers before his return to prison. Tajzadeh, who was on temporary release, was formally given a six-year sentence last week.



1000 GMT: The Oil Squeeze. The chief executive of the French oil company Total, Christophe de Margerie, said today that it will cease gasoline sales to Iran if the United States passes legislation to penalise fuel suppliers exporting to Tehran.

0925 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Rah-e-Sabz's latest list of detainees has 2560 names. The website estimates that the total arrested since the June election is probably 18,000.

One of those detainees, journalist Mohammad Reza Yazdan-Panah has been indicted for "acting against national security".

0920 GMT: Stop Blogging. Now. RAHANA reports that Google-owned Blogger has been filtered in Iran.

0915 GMT: Economy Watch. Khabar Online posts some troubling figures for the Government, with a 4:1 imbalance between Iran's imports and its exports.

0855 GMT: Is the Government Rattled? There is a notable sharpness today in the attacks on opposition figures by pro-regime newspapers. Kayhan announces that even if former President Mohammad Khatami repents, people will not forgive him for his "sedition".

Resalat asserts that staff from the reformist sites Rah-e-Sabz and Balatarin, with former Minister Ataollah Mohajerani as intermediary, received money from British intelligence officials. The newspaper also "reports" that "the dumb Sheikh [Mehdi Karroubi] met with organisers of fitna [sedition], who proposed to restart this on the election anniversary" but that Mir Hossein Mousavi does not want a call for demonstrations.[

0845 GMT: Interpreting Human Rights. Leading reformist Nasrullah Torabi has drawn a lesson from Iran's withdrawal of its candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council, with its negative effects on Tehran's standing: the step confirms the news of Iran's human rights violations.

0843 GMT: Larijani Watch. Just because he is manoeuvring against the President does not mean Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani has to go easy on the US --- indeed, because he is criticising Ahmadinejad, there is even more cause to take the tough line on Washington. In his latest speech, Larijani declared that "people will stand against the US with their lives". (sorry, misunderstanding, your IRGC has to do that ;-)

0838 GMT: Removing Mousavi. The new Constitution of the private group of Iranian universities, Islamic Azad University, has removed Mir Hossein Mousavi from the Board.

0835 GMT: Thanks for That, Ayatollah Khamenei. In his speech to Iran's police forces on Sunday, the Supreme Leader said that respect for people is necessary.

0830 GMT: Karroubi Watch. And while we're summarising Mir Hossein Mousavi's latest steps, Rah-e-Sabz offers Mehdi Karroubi's interview with Der Spiegel, in which he declared that he would be pursuing a demonstration "to protect our Constitution" on the anniversary of the election, 12 June, and called the Ahmadinejad Government a "disaster" for Iran. We're still waiting for the German version.

0825 GMT: Whipping the NGOs Into Shape. Mohammad Reza Alipour, the Deputy Tehran Police Commander, said on Saturday that the police intend to organize non-governmental organizations in a “centralized” way. Alipour explained, “The police’s concern is that there is insufficient supervision over citizen organization and in some of them there is administrative chaos….There is no oversight for issuing licenses for these organizations.”

0815 GMT: The Chinese Angle. Amidst the tangle of signals of Beijing on sanctions, oil imports from Iran, and trade, Mehr News Agency is upbeat:

Iranian and Chinese finance ministers met in the U.S. on Sunday and underlined plans to enhance economic ties and increase the mutual trade level to $20 billion. The Mehr News Agency reported that on the sidelines of the World Bank summit in Washington, Shamseddin Hosseni met Xie Xuren.

Hosseini pointed to Iran's immediate privatization policy and said that foreign companies, especially Chinese firms, can cooperate in the country's lucrative investment projects such as oil refineries and petrochemical plants.

Most of the cheerleading for the trade boost comes from the Iranian side, with the Chinese representative "expressing his satisfaction with the Iranian official's suggestions and noted that the two countries were in a reconstructing phase of their economies meant to benefit their nations".

So is Beijing really boosting its economic stake in Iran, just throwing up reassuring noises, or keeping all its economic and political options open?
0800 GMT: Interpreting Mousavi. With Mir Hossein Mousavi making a flurry of speeches this week, we've offered a quick analysis of his four key points, "Who Defends the Islamic Republic?"

0500 GMT: No significant shifts on the news front this morning. The Ahmadinejad Government has been relatively quiet. Speaker of Parliament Larijani continues his sniping at the President and his inner circle, but without making a significant move. Opposition figures such as Mousavi and Karroubi, with their statements, are signalling a build-up in activity, but plans have yet to emerge. And on the international front, the discussions on the nuclear front --- notably yesterday's encounter between Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano --- still offer more the style of engagement rather than the substance of breakthrough.

A moment, therefore, to look at some points of view. There's an interchange on Press TV on the latest US Government steps on nuclear weapons which offers an opportunity to hear the thoughts of Tehran University students. There's a readers' discussion, sparked by a Tehran Bureau article on "Azeris and the Green Movement", on issues amongst Iran's ethnic groups and the dynamic with the national challenge to the Government. And there's our own readers' dialogue on the legitimacy of the 2009 election and the politics and "justice" beyond it.

And, for a personal point of view, there are the thoughts of Maryam, expressed in a letter to her father, journalist  Emad Baghi, as he celebrated his 48th birthday in Evin Prison on Sunday.