I first encountered Mehdi Saharkhiz as “onlymehdi” on Twitter last June. He has been one of the most important sources of information, especially photos and videos, for EA and many others on the post-election crisis.
From coffee shops in Ridgewood, his home in Wayne and anywhere there is cell service, a 28-year-old Iranian is broadcasting the ongoing uprising in his home country — one of a growing number of people intent on helping share with the world what happens on the streets of Tehran.
Mehdi Saharkhiz — known as “onlymehdi” on his blog, YouTube channel and Twitter feed — has been posting photographs and videos of opposition protests in Iran since the disputed Iranian presidential election last June sent thousands of protesters into the streets and triggered a brutal crackdown by the regime.
“For me, it’s about getting the word out there,” Saharkhiz said.
2355 GMT: Just checking in to say we have posted a video of a Tehran University academic defending Thursday’s executions of Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani and Arash Rahmanipour.
1910 GMT: We’re taking an evening break. We may be back for a late-night wrap-up. If not, all the latest news will open our Sunday updates.
1900 GMT: Pressure on Ahmadinejad. The “conservative” campaign against the President’s advisors has not ceased. The high-profile member of Parliament Ahmad Tavakoli has attacked the controversial Deputy Minister of Culture, Mo-Amin Ramin, and Ahmadinejad aide Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai. Read the rest of this entry »
UPDATE 8 January: Will Heaven will not give up — he has made another attempt, informed only by anecdote, distortion, and speculation, to justify his campaign for silence on Twitter about #IranElection.
I will break my own vow of silence (see comments below), regarding any discussion of and thus further publicity for the thoughtless and indefensible in Mr Heaven’s “analysis”, to say this:
@WillHeaven: You insult those of us who use #Twitter wisely and, hopefully, effectively. You insult @persiankiwi, & you insult the people of #Iran. If you have any decency, stop.
(P.S. Maybe you can be of use writing about #uksnow.)
—
Josh Shahryar writes:
Waking up every day and being a journalist is a very conflicting job. Sometimes, you read the work of other journalists who’ve written responsibly and with full knowledge of the subject matter and you feel proud of who you are. Other times, people write things that make you want to just sit there and mourn the fact that he or she belongs to the same profession as you.
Last week, in the online edition of Britain’s Daily Telegraph, Will Heaven critiqued the people who have been active on Twitter for the cause of Iran — some now for almost 200 days — under the headline, “Iran and Twitter: the fatal folly of the online revolutionaries”. Read the rest of this entry »
Today 36 members of Iran’s Parliament tabled a bill ensuring that anyone designated by the courts as a “combatant” be executed within five days. The bill seeks to amend an existing law that states that anyone who “tampers” with public opinion, a clause used mainly these days to indicate calling for protests or joining them, can be designated as a combatant. Iranian protesters are being accused of treason and for attempting to stage a “velvet revolution” even when all they are demanding is the rights granted to them by the Constitution.
While observers inside and outside Iran may be baffled by the claims of such a revolution, the Iranian government has some cause. There may be no facts for a foreign-instigated regime change; however, some outsiide the country — both “foregin” and Iranian — may give the regime the pretext to prosecute peaceful protesters. Read the rest of this entry »
An EA reader writes, “Some time ago, some dear friends of mine returned to their home in Iran after a prolonged holiday. I had sent them a long farewell message, wishing them well and asking them to try and contact me whenever there might be a chance. I wasn’t sure when or if I might hear. Then on Saturday, 5 December, just as news was spreading about Iran ‘cutting off’ all Internet access, an e-mail arrived:
At the airport when we landed, they questioned me about what I’d been doing abroad, where I’d been, and asked if I was on facebook, and for my passwords. They even did a search for my name on Facebook but didn’t find me. I am so glad I closed my account. I know it has been said many times but still people should be warned to close their FB accounts, etc. (Still. I was really worried because I still had a Twitter account open – but I had set that up with all false info —luckily.) It was intimidating for a bit but I acted as confidently as I could. It was not a pleasant experience. So please if you know anyone coming back here, advise them to close all their FB & Twitter accounts.
People are going about their everyday lives but it’s not really very normal, there is graffiti everywhere. We saw many photos on the web but there is so much more than I expected! You see green paint & writing and V’s everywhere, sometimes in the strangest places! Read the rest of this entry »
2010 GMT: Our Daily Contribution to the Khamenei Death Rumour Mill. The Supreme Leader’s Facebook site has the following message from Wednesday, “Today Noon; Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran attended a rite in respect of Imam Sadeq(A.S)”.
If true, this would disprove Tuesday’s Peiknet story, the original source of the current health rumors, that the Supreme Leader had been confined to his house by doctors.
Protest at the European level is not enough. The Netherlands should also use its own channels. There is an escalation of political oppression in Iran and we should react to that by using heavier diplomatic means….To prevent the eradication of any kind of opposition in Iran, the Netherlands must act now.
Human rights is one of Verhagen’s policy priorities, and he can be contacted in English or Dutch via Twitter.
1545 GMT: Mehdi Karroubi has responded — big-time — to Government attempts to arrest him over his allegations of abuses of detainees. We’ve got the details in a separate entry.
There were four answer choices: “Yes,” “no,” “maybe” and “yes, if he cuts my health care”.
Darrin Blackford, a Secret Service spokesman said, “We are aware of it and we will take the appropriate investigative steps… We take of these things seriously.” Facebook had suspended its “Polls” applications when we tried to look at the survey last night.
A bit of reassurance: before the poll was halted, 90 percent of respondents had voted “No”>
I first encountered Mehdi Saharkhiz as “onlymehdi” on Twitter last June. He has been one of the most important sources of information, especially photos and videos, for EA and many others on the post-election crisis.
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UPDATE 8 January: Will Heaven will not give up — he has made 
An EA reader writes, “Some time ago, some dear friends of mine returned to their home in Iran after a prolonged holiday. I had sent them a long farewell message, wishing them well and asking them to try and contact me whenever there might be a chance. I wasn’t sure when or if I might hear. Then on Saturday, 5 December, just as news was spreading about Iran ‘cutting off’ all Internet access, an e-mail arrived: 
U.S. officials have stated that they are investigating 
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