Former US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire, and 19 other activists were freed by Israel after a week in detention. Their boat The Spirit of Humanity, carrying humanitarian aid for Gazans, was intercepted and boarded by Israel naval forces. The Free Gaza Movement reported that, despite the release,
Many passengers did not get all of their belongings back, many computers were stolen, some that were returned had their hard drives completely erased. Many of the pieces of camera equipment were not given back as well, and, of course, none of the tapes of the boarding, roughing up or incarceration of the 21 people who have been returned.
Thanks to Mondoweiss for posting the news and this video, from the Council on American-Islamic Relations:
2110 GMT: According to his son, pro-reform journalist Isa Saharkhiz has been seized and taken to an undisclosed location.
2015 GMT:Reports that women’s rights activist Zeynab Peyghambarzadeh was arrested today in the “Mothers of Martyrs” rally in Laleh Park.
2000 GMT: Now This is Interesting. According to Iran Labor News Agency, Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, in a meeting with the families of detainees, has said post-election events had caused “bitterness” while denying there was a power struggle in the Islamic state: “I don’t think that (anybody with a) vigilant conscience is satisfied with the current situation.”
Rafsanjani’s manoeuvre should be seen as an attempt to get as much political leverage as possible while distancing himself from any call for massive change: “I hope with good management and wisdom the issues would be settled in the next days and the situation could improve … We should think about protecting the system’s long-term interests.”
So Iran’s ultimate politician is not going to make any challenge to the Supreme Leader. But here is the unknown from the interview: what does he propose as the fate of President Ahmadinejad? Read the rest of this entry »
1825 GMT: BBC English has posted a video report on the Iranian Government’s “public service” campaign on a telephone hotline for people to inform on family and friends participating in demonstrations.
1645 GMT: BBC Persian reports that Ayatollah Yusef Sane’i, a fervent critic of the Government, has condemned televised confessions, saying they have no value as the obvious product of torture. Sane’i emphasized that “endurance is the key to success”. Read the rest of this entry »
(An audio interview with Huwaida Arraf of the Free Gaza Movement, one of two activists released, and with Mairead Corrigan Maguire, who is still in jail, follows the opening paragraphs of the story.)
On Tuesday, the news broke on Twitter: a freighter, Spirit of Humanity, carrying three tons of medical supplies, cement, olive trees, and children’s toys for Gaza, had been intercepted and boarded by Israeli naval personnel. Twenty-one passengers, including former US Congressman Cynthia McKinney, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire, and activists from Britain, Ireland, Bahrain, and Jamaica were detained. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said, “They will be released as soon as they are checked.” However, McKinney, Maguire, and 17 others remain in custory because they refuse to sign a deportation order that says they were “trespassing” in Israeli territorial waters.
As of Friday morning, here is how many column inches The Washington Post has given to the story: 0
Comments Off 
1825 GMT: 
Entries (RSS)