Iran's American Detainee: The Case of Kian Tajbakhsh

At 9 p.m. on 9 July, Iranian security forces arrested Kian Tajbakhsh, the only American detained in connection with Iran's post-election the crisis, in front of his wife and young daughter at their home in Tehran. His arrest was first announced on 13 July on state-sponsored Press TV English, which alleged that he was cooperating with Hossein Rassam, the head of the security and political division of the British Embassy in Tehran, to foment post-election turmoil. Rassam has since been released on bail, but Tajbakhsh continues to be detained in an unknown
location.

Then, on Saturday, Tajbakhsh appeared in a press conference after the Tehran trial of almost 100 defendants (there is no indication that Tajbakhsh was amongst the defendants). Family and friends of Tajbakhsh had previously warned in a public declaration that they feared he was being held in an attempt by the Iranian authorities to obtain forced statements from him, noting that “such statements are repeatedly extracted under conditions of torture for the sole purpose of staging televised show trials”. They are distressed by photos of Tajbakhsh published by the Iranian official agency Fars News, which indicate that he is under intense strain.

Tajbakhsh, who received his Ph.D. from Columbia University, is a social scientist and urban planner affiliated with the New School in New York. He has always been noted as an academic who has sought political neutrality in an effort to bridge cultural divides. However, Iranian state television is now pointing to his American citizenship to blame foreign powers, especially the US and Britain, for interference in its internal affairs and post-election disturbances.

Those seeking more information on the case can find it at the "Free Kian '09" website.

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2115 GMT: A Personal Note "#CNNFail". I am watching, open-mouthed, as CNN milks the Khomeini-Ahmadinejad "non-kiss" for 10 minutes of blather, with Reza Sayah, his producer,and the happy, chatty, vacuous Michael Holmes chuntering on about how they disagreed about the meaning of the physical interaction: Did Khameini block Mahmoud's embrace? Did Mahmoud check the Supreme Loyalty because he wanted to show sufficient loyalty? It's all ho-ho, ha-ha at the end of their proclaimed 15-hour day.

Here's a friendly suggestion to all the CNN folks. If you spent as much time carefully evaluating political sources over the last two weeks, including the Khamenei-Ahmadinejad tensions, or if you gave a little thought to the politics beyond the single image of the Supreme Leader and the President, including today's demonstrations and the reactions to Saturday's trial, you wouldn't have to spend 600 seconds saying nothing of consequence beyond flagrant self-promotion.

2040 GMT: Another Effort for Conciliation. According to the Iranian Labor News Agency, Maryam Behrouzi, the head of the society of Zeynab, a conservative women's group has stated, "Both principalist and reformist factions have had faults and irregularities and must attempt to cleanse themselves so that the establishment regains its reputation and regains the trust of the people." At the same time, Behrouzi said, "In these [televised] confessions [of reformists] wno mention has been made of  'velvet revolution'....The Supreme Leader has called the two factions of principalist and reformist to be to wings of the same system and accusing one fraction of 'soft deposition' will cause a huge damage to the establishment....If some individuals of a fraction make a mistake that mistake should not be used to indict a whole faction."

2030 GMT: A Very Important Correction. Mehdi Karroubi has denied the report of Fars News alleging that he participated in a demonstration between Vali-e Asr Square and Vanak Square as "an absolute falsehood". Karroubi says, "At the alleged time [I] was participating in the memorial service of the filmmaker Seifollah Daad at the Nour Mosque. This mosque is located between Vali-e Asr and Vanak; however, [I] did not get out of [my] car and did not address the people."

Our correspondent Mani analyses:

Karroubi is not back tracking. The account is from Etemade Melli, Karroubi's official site, and therefore should be considered true. I think that the reason why Karroubi is making this statement is because Fars News had a mendacious reason for reporting Karroubi's presence. The number of demonstrators today was relatively small so  Fars News is implying that Karroubi has participated in a demonstration in which support for him and the reform movement is waning.

Karroubi's statement is reinforcing the fact that he did not call for this demonstration, as opposed to last Thursday in which he had effectively called for protest and got sizable popular participation in one of the least accessible locations in Tehran.

1710 GMT: Confusion of reports over how big protests are and the extent of clashes with security forces. We will be back later with a late-night update to try to set out definitive information.

1610 GMT: Non-Non-Non-Story of the Day. The New York Times wastes a lot of newsprint on "U.S. Weighs Iran Sanctions if Talks Are Rejected". The story claims that National Security Advisor James Jones floated the idea, while in Israel, of "cutting off [Iran's] imports of gasoline and other refined oil products...if it fails to respond to President Obama’s offer to negotiate on its nuclear program".

This is the equivalent of fantasy politics, since the prospect of any US-Iran talks on any issue of substance is suspended. In case The New York Times hasn't paid attention, the Government in Tehran lacks legitimacy, amongst many of its own people and many in the international community. So until Mahmoud Ahmadinejad becomes more than a President in name, there can be no discussions of significance.

The real story, if reporter David Sanger had cared to notice, is that the Obama Administration has used this suspension to get Free Credit, posing as tough guy before both Israel and the US Congress. That is an approach without cost until someone actually suggests, with the passage of time and the (probable) continuing internal tension in Iran, that talk of sanctions be replaced by action.

1600 GMT: Steady stream of reports of protests across Tehran, including Vanak Square and Fatemeh Square as well as Vali-e Asr Square.

CNN now reporting "thousands" in Vali-e Asr and numbers growing. (CNN has also just reported as "Just In" that Mehdi Karroubi was amongst protestors, 35 minutes after we posted the information.)

1535 GMT: Mowj-e-Sabz, interpreting a report from the Islamic Republic News Agency, says Tehran is under "quasi-military government" in with police based on all major city streets and in squares.

1525 GMT: Fars News that opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi (see 0700 GMT) was among demonstrators in Vali-e Asr Square this afternoon. reports

1500 GMT: More Mr President. Earlier we reported Ahmadinejad's threat to "hang [protesters] from the roof]". Another translation of the speech in Mashaad has the President saying, "[I will] stick their heads to the ceiling."

Mahmoud may want to be a bit careful, however, as his supporters are denying any such sticking or banging of heads is going on. From an interview with pro-Ahmadinejad member of Parliament Bizhan Novabeh:

Reporter: Mr. Nobaveh, what are you doing for the detained? Did you know the son of Ruholamini? Are you looking into why he was killed during his detention?

Nobaveh: Who is saying this? Now it’s possible he hit his head against the floor.

Reporter: His corpse says something different.

Nobaveh: Why are you speaking nonsense? We have to ask the government to look into this.

Reporter: It’s possible that your investigations will take time and every moment that passes lowers [the importance of] this incident.

Nobaveh: This talk is a crime. This talk, in any case, is subject to investigation.

Reporter: I asked one simple question. Regarding the son of Ruholamini, are you of the belief that there should be an investigation?

Nobaveh: Don’t 27 people a day die in road accidents?

Reporter: Road deaths are different than … deaths … .

Nobaveh: What’s the difference? In any case we haven’t heard of any deaths.

1430 GMT: CNN reports, from sources, an estimated 1000 protesters marching on Val-e Asr. Horns are honking, "V for Victory" signs are being flashed, and there are chants of "God is Great".

1100 GMT: Some reports suggest that during the inauguration ceremony, Ahmadinejad tried to kiss the Supreme Leader's hand but was rebuffed. Another break in protocol:  for the first time the decree was read by the head of the leadership office (traditionally this was done by the son of Ayatollah Khomeini, or later former presidents).

1050 GMT: Facinating photo comparison between the 2005 and 2009 inauguration.



0735 GMT: The Supreme Leader has now endorsed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as President. There is no indication of any statement beyond the formal announcement.

0715 GMT: You Have to Hand It to Mahmoud. Ahmadinejad may be in trouble (in our opinion, emasculated as a leader), but he's as brazen as ever. In his recent trip to Mashaad, avoiding the "4oth Day" ceremonies in Tehran,  he told "professors who are members of the basij": "Let the inauguration ceremonies end; afterward we will grab [our opponents] over the collar and hang them from the roof."

0700 GMT: Saham News, the official website of Mehdi Karroubi, has published his response to the Tehran trials. Karroubi concludes that the "weak and ridiculous indictment [was] prepared with such alacrity and haste against respected political figures...partly due to the time crunch of the presidential inauguration and partly because [the Government] feels that it must respond to to the events that accompanied the recent memorial ceremonies."

Karroubi is proposing a political response, with representatives from the Karroubi, Mousavi, Rezaei and Ahmadinejad stating their positions regarding the existence or non-existence of election fraud in front of the cameras of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.

Karroubi, while reassuring, "I have always been loyal to Imam [Khomeini] and the establishment", asks, "How credibile are these elections, especially under the current conditions in which the country is in an abnormal condition and mass arrests and killings have taken place?" He adds:

When people witness those being treated extremely roughly [by the Revolutionary Guard and Basij] and are being told that the Revolutionary Guard and Basij are innocent and the [demonstrators] are riff-raff; in a society in which student dormitories are attacked and people have witnessed the attack and an official statement says we are not sure who ordered the suppression; in a society that the body of a beloved family member is returned to their family and the family is told that we have no idea who killed your child ---- how can you assume that the people will place any stock in a process that trots out individuals in prison clothes in order that these prisoners assert that the presidential election was free of fraud?....

These actions not only have no positice effect [on society] but in fact cause the establishment to lose its reputation and is a blot on the fame of the Islamic Republic.

0655 GMT: Disrupting the Disruption? Mowj-e-Sabz reports Irancell Company last night sent a text message to its subscribers that the network will experience problems in the next 72 hours, the first time that it has put out advance notification. Coincidentally, Ahmadinejad's inauguration occurs 48 hours from now.

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1340 GMT: The "reformist" Parliamentary group Imam Khomeini Line has denounced today's events as a "so-called trial".

1330 GMT: Fars News Agency has published the "confession" of former Vice President Abtahi; this differs somewhat from the version reported out of the trial (see 1210 GMT). This may be because Fars had an advance "script" of Abtahi's testimony.

1210 GMT: Blaming Hashemi. And now to the political point of today's proceedings. Take note of how the "confession" of former Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi, as described by Fars News, is set out to tie former President Rafsanjani into the "plot" of the opposition:

After the election [Mohammad] Khatami and Rafsanjani had sworn to have each other's back, and I don't understand the point of it, knowing the diference [in votes between Ahmadienjad and Mousavi] was 11 million....Hashemi wanted to take revange on Ahmadinejad and the Supreme Leader....

Mousavi probably did not know the country, but Khatami, with all due respect... knew all the issues. He was aware of the capability and power of the leader, but he joined Mousavi and this was a betrayal,...I see myself as a reformist but stated that Khatami did not have the right to force [this] on Mousavi. I did not agree with Ahmadinejad's presidency but believe in people's votes, and congratulated as people's choice as  the president.

It was wrong of me to take part in the rallies, but [Mehdi] Karroubi told me that we cannot call the people onto the streets with such a meagre number of votes, so we had better go to the streets ourselves to demonstrate our protest.

But, if Rafsanjani is the chief villain, Iran can thank its ultimate hero:

If the Supreme Leader would have backed up even a bit, today Iran's distress would have gone as far as that in Afghanistan and Pakistan; therefore people should thank the supreme leader for his moves. I am telling all friends and all that hear our voices to know the election matter was a lie to make an excuse for riots so Iran would have changed to another Iraq and Afghanistan so [the opposition] could hurt the regime and take over.

1140 GMT: How Serious is that "Foreign Plot"? Well, Mark Palmer is far from a covert practitioner of regime change: he is the author of Breaking the Axis of Evil, which "has the gumption to argue what diplomats and political leaders dare not speak: that global peace with not be achieved until democracies replace the world's remaining dictatorships". A former State Department official, he advocated the invasion of Iraq well before March 2003, and he is now with the American Enterprise Institute.

Abbas Milani is also not very secretive: he is one of the most prominent US-based analysts of Iran. He is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, another "conservative" think tank (one of its most notable associates is former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice). While critical of the Iranian system, Milani has not advocated "regime change".

And Gene Sharp, singled out in the prosecution's indictment (see 0938 GMT), is an academic who has written for decades "on the strategic uses of nonviolent struggle in face of dictatorship, war, genocide, and oppression". A long-time fellow at Harvard University, the "instructions" cited in the indictment are not direct orders to the defendants (unless the prosecution has some dramatic evidence that Sharp has ever met any of them) but a reference to the general theories and analysis in his books.

Put bluntly, if this is a "foreign plot", as the Iranian prosecutors allege, it's a very poorly-designed one indeed, given that it took me five minutes to assemble the above information.

1105 GMT: Finding the Foreign Agents. This from the prosecution's opening statement:

Some people like "Mark Palmer", President of "Konos Institute" have carried out much research on Iran and formed classed two or three years ago, to which they invited reformists like Emad Baqi to train them in "soft overthrow" of the Government.

There is a institute in US which is called "Hoover", and one of its member is Abbas Milani. His value to CIA is more than Reza Pahlavi [the son of the Shah] because of his good relationship with reformists and some members of the Kargozaran Party especially Mohammad Atrianfar. The institute has a project called "Democracy in Iran", and also Milani covers all of Akbar Ganji's financial costs overseas.

1100 GMT: This trial is clearly an effort to break the "reformist" Islamic Iran Participation Front, with several of its high-ranking officials amongs the defendants. In addition to those listed in earlier entries, Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, the Vice President of the IIPF, is on trial.

1040 GMT: Sea of Green Radio is dedicating itself to establishing and publicising the death toll in post-election conflict: "Any failure to hold Iranian authorities to account has one key consequence: it extends to repressive forces in Iran a licence to continue to kill without fear that the full scale of these murders will be exposed." Today it interviews the author of Iran Revolution, a blog pursuing an up-to-date confirmation of casualties.

1010 GMT: Other defendants include Mohsen Mirdamadi, General Secretary of  the Islamic Iran Participation Front, Mohsen Aminzadeh, a founding member of the Islamic Participation Front and former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs under President Khatami, and journalist Mohammad Atrianfar.

1000 GMT: Summary of prosecutor's introduction of defendants:

"What we have seen is a part of an unsuccessful velvet coup d'etat. Many arrestees have been previously arrested for being with Monafeghin [anti-Iranian terrorists]", including involvements in bombings. Others have travelled to Iraq to meet American troops and have sent American authorities videos of their plans for bombings. "Emad Behavar [leader of the youth wing of the Freedom Party] was an activist in Mousavi's campaigns, which was making film and distributing them to others in Iran....They betrayed their country by sending footage out to foreign media to change the image of Iran." One defendant is accused of destroying banks and other public property.

0938 GMT: From Revolutionary Road, who is live-blogging from the first trials of the detainees, the text of the indictment:

Every fair man can easily see the big achievement of this great epic [election] in the political, cultural, social, and economic fields at national and international levels.

Firstly, this election converted into real democratic pride and performance, with a message to people around the world, that the Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the most secure and stable countries in the world for investment and progress in economic projects.

Secondly, in the field of international relations, this great national election contributed to the achievement of the full realization of peoples' rights. Therefore, there in no place for false claimants of freedom, democracy. and human rights [to challenge this]. From now on, Iranian diplomats and statesmen can do their roles better than ever in the world.

Thirdly, the profound effect of this election was that, more than ever, the national public realized that the pattern of religious democracy is efficient.

Fourth, since the support of the people is one of the most important components in national security to the holy Islamic Republic, the 85 percent turnout iof people in this election stabilised the national security and will help Iran in its domestic and foreign problems.

But as the supreme leader Ali Khamenei had warned people about enemies and their malicious intrigues, the losers and hopeless enemies immediately started to turn this victory into bitterness for the Iranian nation. According to available documents and evidence and the reasonable confessions of the accused, this was a pre-designed and scheduled velvet coup. More than 100 of 198 instructions of "Gene Sharp" for velvet coup have been carried out.

0925 GMT: The Battle Amongst the Clerics. Picking up on some news from yesterday: the Association of Teachers and Researchers of Qom, a "reformist" group, issued a statement asking protesters to continue. The Association asserted, "Grand Ayatollahs are worried and disappointed by the recent developments ,and what the
Friday prayer leader [Ayatollah Jannati] says in the Friday sermon does not reflect thoughts and beliefs of the Grand Ayatollahs and the professors and teachers in the seminaries and the Hawzahs [schools of clerical learning and interpretation]."

0845 GMT: Fars News Agency has posted a series of pictures from the trials. There is no update on the proceedings.

0600 GMT: Iranian state media are reporting that the first trials of demonstrators in the post-election conflicts have begun. It is unclear how many are being tried, but the estimates of 30 to 100 are greater than the original figure of 20 put out this week. The charges of rioting and vandalism seem relatively minor; the catch-all and more ominous allegation are "acting against national security" and "having ties with counter-revolutionary groups".

Fars News says that the trials began in "chaos and turbulence" at 9:10 a.m. local time (0440 GMT). There are "nearly 100" defendants, including former Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Behzad Nabavi, former Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi, and former Deputy Ministry of Economy Mohsen Safai-Farahani.

Kurdish officials in Iraq said last night that three American tourists have been detained by Iranian security forces after they strayed across the border during a mountain hike.