1955 GMT: The lawyer for 21-year-old Amir Reza Arefi says his client has been sentenced to death for “mohareb” (war against God). Arefi was arrested in April 2009, before the June election.
1945 GMT: Keeping Rafsanjani in His Box. An EA correspondent puts together an important story: with the 7th general assembly of the Assembly of Experts due next week, probably on Tuesday and Wednesday, new attacks have been launched upon Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of the Assembly.
A statement from a number of clerics at Qom declares that, due to the performance of Hashemi Rafsanjani in the past few months, he is not suitable to continue in his post. And Fars News, criticising Rafsanjani’s son Mehdi Hashemi for not returning to Iran after five months abroad, asserts that his settling in London is “strange and suspicious”.
1715 GMT: The Karroubi Wave. It appears that the Karroubi family — not just Mehdi Karroubi, but the family — are ready to propel the next wave of opposition to the Government and regime. In addition to Fatemeh Karroubi’s interview (1600 GMT), Mehdi Karroubi’s son Hossein has spoken out to Radio Zamaneh.
Q: We are approaching the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. How can the recollection and commemoration of those days benefit us today?
MOUSAVI: First and foremost, I want to congratulate all of our people on the 31st anniversary of our [victory in the] Revolution, particularly the families of our martyrs, our [war] veterans and prisoners of war [with Iraq].
Analyzing the Islamic revolution has not come to an end yet. There have been thousands of books and articles written about it and many still to come. It is interesting that the recent elections and the events following it have brought forth new critiques of the Revolution.
Ahmad Shirzad, a former member of Parliament, physicist, and friend of Professor Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, posted these thoughts on the funeral on his blog. Translated by Iran Rises:
Today [Thursday, 14 February], Massoud’s body was buried, but left a battlefield behind. The Hezbollahi (Party of God) brothers had mobilized from that morning and did not stop surrounding the body for an instant.
Loudspeakers and electric generators and eulogizers and very high-power stereo systems and organized pickup trucks were all at their disposal. The family and its circle had practically no control and gave up on the program. From the day that Dr. Ali-Mohammadi was assassinated, the officers came and went and insisted that his body be buried during the Tehran Friday prayers. The only point that the family could get its way on was its insistence that the burial ceremonies be held on Thursday. Read the rest of this entry »