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Entries in Marcus Hellwig (5)

Sunday
Apr032011

Latest from Iran (3 April): The Zionist Lobby and Clay Tablets

1840 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch (Repentance Edition). More from the interview published by State news agency IRNA of Ebrahim Yazdi (see 1730 GMT), the former leader of the Freedom Movement of Iran who was detained from early October until 20 March:

In the interview [carried out on the same day he was released, but only printed today], Yazdi maintains that his heart problems and weakened physical condition have prompted him to leave the leadership of the Freedom Movement.

Yazdi insists in the interview that he has the utmost respect for the Iranian constitution, but adding: “Whoever states a criticism cannot be regarded as a dissident. The dominant mode of thinking should not be that you are either for me or against me. If someone criticizes you, this does not mean they are your enemy.”

“I have no problem with the system but I am against certain actions that are unconstitutional,” the octogenarian politician says in his interview.

He is also quoted as saying that demonstrations are free so far as they do not disturb public order.

“It is best to coordinate relevant regulations,” Yazdi is quoted as saying, “because without such coordination, it is not just your supporters that come to the streets but also undesirable groups.”

Yazdi is quoted as saying that he had told opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi that when he invites people to join street demonstrations, it is clear that many of those who take to the streets are not in fact his supporters. “They chant their own slogans and demonstrate against the regime… and they damage the reform movement.” IRNA writes that Yazdi recommends a close investigation of Mousavi’s actions to determine why he has reached his current position.

According to IRNA, Yazdi also says that he was against Mousavi’s candidacy because he felt it was not right to have “a president that was not coordinated with the leadership.”

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Sunday
Feb202011

The Latest from Iran (20 February): So What Happens on 1 Esfand?

2225 GMT: More Political Prisoners. Tehran University School of Science student Sohrab Jafari and law student Habib Farahzadi were arrested today.

2135 GMT: More 1 Esfands. In an interview with Radio Farda, Mehdi Karroubi's advisor Mojtaba Vahedi gets to the point: he is impressed with the turnout today and there will be more protests until demands are met.

Vahedi adds that mounting casualties will only have the same effect as 1979, building up a rally of mourning.

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Saturday
Feb192011

The Latest from Iran (19 February): Is That All There Is?

2150 GMT: 1 Esfand. Students at 14 Azad (Technical) Universities around Iran have announced their support of Sunday's rallies.

In an interview with the Green outlet RASA TV, Mir Hossein Mousavi's advisor Ardeshir Amir Arjomand confirms that Sunday's marches go ahead even though Mousavi is under house arrest:

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Wednesday
Jan192011

The Latest from Iran (19 January): Ahmadinejad v. Khamenei?

2110 GMT: Ahmadinejad v. Khamenei. This may not be entirely accurate reporting, but it does bring us full circle with the updates.

The Twitter account "M_Ahmadinejad" reports, "Ayatollah seems really depressed today: he's been locked in his room playing Carole King records all morning."

1835 GMT: Curtain Down. The Iranian theatre and art community has criticised the shutdown by Iranian authorities of a Tehran production of Hedda Gabler, reported in last week's updates.

The House of Theatre and Association of Drama Actors described the ban as illegal, since the production had an official licence ifrom the Supervision and Evaluation Council.

The play was closed after allegations that it promoted “vulgarity and hedonism". Director Vahid Rahbani and members of the crew were summoned to the Tehran Prosecutor’s office “to provide clarification”.

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Sunday
Jan022011

Iran Snapshot: Using Sakineh (Again) for Regime Propaganda

Once again, Iranian officials have tried to use the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the woman condemned to death for adultery and complicity in her husband's murder, to tarnish the bigger targets of activists and journalists.

First, Ashtiani's son Sajad Ghaderzadeh, detained since early October, was allowed to leave prison on $40,000 bail. He then gave a press conference in Tabriz on Saturday, in which he accepted his mother's guilt but pleaded for the commutation of her death sentence.

That statement is far from surprising, but there were a couple of twists in the interview. First, Ghaderzadeh said he had been freed on 12 December, a release that no one seems to have noticed. Then there was this: "Local officials had originally told journalists they would meet his mother...as well, but then they said the proper procedures had not been followed to give her leave from prison."

The curiosity is resolved this morning, for Press TV proudly brings out Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani:

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