Remembering Neda

Neda Agha-Soltani
With many thanks to the Toronto Star on Pinterest for this photo of Neda, a very courageous Iranian young lady.
’ FOR NEDA reveals the true story of Neda Agha-Soltan, who became another tragic casualty of Iran's violent crackdown on post-election protests on June 20, 2009. Unlike many unknown victims, however, she instantly became an international symbol of the struggle.
This documentary cannot be embedded because it is age-restricted; it must therefore be viewed on YouTube itself.

I remember Neda’s tragic death. It moved the world. Here is a link to the documentary. Be aware: It is not for the faint-hearted. But in my opinion, all those who can watch it, should watch it. It will make us all aware of the needless suffering in Iran.

Furthermore, I am posting this today because Iranian women are currently still suffering so much because of the brutality of the Mullahs and the authorities in that country.

Personally, I think it would be so much better for Iranians if the Peacock Throne were restored, if Iran had a Shah and Shahbanu again. It would bring so much dignity and stability to the country. A Shah ruling as a constitutional monarch? What could be better for Iran in these troubled times? © Mark Alexander

Iranian Fugitive: Identity Mix-up with Shot Neda Wrecked My Life

THE OBSERVER: Neda Soltani, a lecturer whose photo wrongly became symbol of protest, tells how regime threatened her life after confusing her with shot protester Neda Agha Soltan

Her face adorned a thousand placards and posters, an emblem of the failed Iranian uprising. The photograph of Neda Agha Soltan, who was shot dead on a Tehran street by a government sniper during the anti-regime demonstrations in 2009, was used in television broadcasts, web pages and newspapers all around the world. Unfortunately, it wasn't her.

As 26-year-old Neda bled to death on the pavement, her shocked eyes stared into an onlooker's mobile phone video camera and the terrible images were uploaded to international websites. It made her a martyr to those inside and outside Iran protesting at the flawed election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Scrambling to cover the story and looking to find a photograph of the dead woman in life, journalists who had been banned at the time from entering Iran lifted a photograph of a woman called Neda Soltani from her Facebook page and published it – and the life of the 32-year-old, middle-class university English lecturer changed for ever.

"It destroyed my life," said Soltani, who has now written a book called My Stolen Face and still has to endure her image appearing as if she were the murdered Neda Soltan. » | Tracy McVeigh | Sunday, October 14, 2012

Iranian Protestors Plan to Turn Tehran into Ghost Town

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Anti-government activists in Iran are planning to turn Tehran into a “ghost town” as part of a nationwide silent protest to mark the anniversary of a young woman shot dead by security forces

Neda Agha-Soltan became the international face of Iran’s Green Movement after the 26-year-old was gunned down in Tehran during protests over claims that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s supporters had rigged the result in his favour.

Following the success of last weekend’s silent protest, when thousands of protesters took to the streets to make the second anniversary of the disputed election, organisers have called for Green Movement activists to turn Tehran and other cities into a “ghost town” on Wednesday by staying at home and leaving the city streets deserted. The organisers say many shops and cafes in Tehran will be either closed or unoccupied, while streets that are normally filled with cars will be mainly free from traffic, apart from a few empty buses.

The protest is scheduled to last for four hours on Wednesday afternoon, and organisers hope to turn the Iranian capital into “lifeless Tehran”. » | Con Coughlin | Monday, June 20, 2011

Iran Stoning Sentence Woman Asks to Be Reunited with Her Children
THE GUARDIAN: Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani's supporters call for support to free her from prison, after sentence was changed to hanging

The Iranian woman whose sentence of death by stoning was commuted to hanging after an international campaign, today sent a message from inside Tabriz prison calling for further support so that she might be reunited with her children.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a 43-year-old mother of two, said she thinks of nothing other than hugging her children and that she was mentally broken when authorities flogged her 99 times in front of her then 17-year-old son, Sajad.

She thanked the world for launching the campaign for her release but said part of her "heart is frozen". "Every night before I go to sleep, I think who would throw stones at me?", she said.

The message was read by Mina Ahadi, of the Iran Committee against Stoning (ICAS), at a press conference in Conway Hall, in London, this morning.

"Put Sakineh's picture beside Neda Agha-Soltan's and don't let Iran repeat what it did with Neda again with Sakineh," said Ahadi, an Iranian human rights activist. Agha-Soltan was shot to death in the aftermath of Iran's disputed election in June 2009 and became a symbol of Iran's post-election rebellion. >>> Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Friday, July 30, 2010

One Year On Iranian Opposition Pays Tribute to Neda Agha Soltan
Mobile telephone footage of Neda Soltan's death was flashed around the world. Photo: The Times
THE TIMES: Tomorrow will mark exactly one year since Neda Agha Soltan ignored the pleas of her anxious mother and joined a million other Iranians protesting against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s theft of the presidential election eight days earlier. She had no idea that she would win global support at the cost of her life.

The pretty young student was shot by a government militiaman. She collapsed on a Tehran pavement, eyes wide open, blood spewing from her mouth, those around beseeching her not to die. Mobile telephone footage of her death was posted on the internet and flashed around the world.

Ms Soltan, 26, instantly became a global symbol of the opposition’s courage and the regime’s brutality. Her name was invoked by President Obama and other world leaders, while her portrait appeared on T-shirts and placards at demonstrations outside Iranian embassies. She inspired songs, poems and films; her fame a measure of the damage she caused to a regime that purports to champion Islamic values but butchers those who oppose it. The other is the extent of its efforts to suppress Ms Soltan’s story; redoubled in the run-up to tomorrow’s anniversary.

The regime has repeatedly sought to jam satellite broadcasts by Voice of America’s Persian News Network of a new HBO film about Ms Soltan’s life featuring interviews with her family.

When it failed, it simply switched off the power in whole areas of Tehran, according to Antony Thomas, the British director of For Neda, which had its first London screening on Thursday night.

In Iranian terms, the film is downright subversive. Ms Soltan’s parents, sister and brother talk, sometimes tearfully, of a vivacious, free-spirited young woman who was not political, but hated the draconian restrictions placed on her sex and was so appalled by the election rigging that she felt compelled to resist. Read on and comment >>> Martin Fletcher | Friday, June 18, 2010

For Neda: For Neda reveals the true, sad story of Neda Agha-Soltan


For Neda: در فارسی


For Neda: في اللغة العربية


Related here

Khamenei’s Uncertain Future: A lonelier road for Iran’s Supreme Leader
THE MAJALLA: While before the presidential elections it appeared that Khamenei would remain Supreme Leader for life, his fate is far less certain today, and he is openly defied by reformist leaders, faces dissent from top ayatollahs, and is contested in public demonstrations. Despite the damage to his reputation, Khamenei’s vast and potent network remains for the moment intact, and his future rests largely in the hands of the Revolutionary Guards.

Among the numerous casualties of Iran’s tainted 2009 presidential elections was the legitimacy of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. While for two decades Khamenei had attempted to cultivate an image of an impartial and magnanimous guide staying above the political fray, his defiant public support for hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad—amidst massive popular uprisings and unprecedented fissures amongst the country’s political elites—exposed him as a petty, partisan autocrat.

At a popular level, previously sacred taboos were shattered, as hundreds of thousands of Iranians defied Khamenei’s unveiled threats against protestors by taking to the streets chanting “death to the dictator” and even “death to Khamenei.” Widely seen images of government-sanctioned brutality against civilians—such as the horrific murder of 27-year-old Neda agha Soltan—as well as persistent allegations of torture, rape, and forced confessions in prison have undermined Khamenei’s image as a “just” spiritual leader among Iran’s pious classes. Widespread allegations of the growing role of his son Mojtaba, considered a key Ahmadinejad ally, in Iran’s repressive security apparatus have further tarnished Khamenei’s public image. >>> Karim Sadjadpour | Monday, February 01, 2010

Anonymous Video of Neda Aghan-Soltan's Death Wins Polk Award
THE GUARDIAN: New 'videography' category reflects rising professional use of user-created content

The George Polk Awards, one of the most important annual journalism prizes, has honoured the anonymous video of the death of Neda Aghan-Soltan during the 2009 Iranian election protests.

The new videography category reflects the increasing importance of user contributions to journalism in an era where cameras are commonplace. It is the first time in the 61-year history of the awards that a work produced anonymously has won.

"This award celebrates the fact that, in today's world, a brave bystander with a cellphone camera can use video-sharing and social networking sites to deliver news," said the New York Times' John Darnton, the curator of the Polk Awards. >>> Mercedes Bunz | Tuesday, February 16, 2010

United for Neda

One Law for All Fundraiser: AC Grayling
Part 1:



Part 2:



One Law for All Fundraiser: Maryam Namazie


Vs. Sharia
Sharia enforced dress code. Photo: Independent World Report
INDEPENDENT WORLD REPORT: Maryam Namazie — rights activist, commentator, broadcaster, and spokesperson for One Law for All — on resisting the misogynist, medieval and barbaric Islamic code. There is a world of difference between sexists and bigots who believe religion gives them the go ahead to think that gays are perverts and unveiled women whores and a state that puts those beliefs into laws, under which gays are executed and badly veiled women are fined, imprisoned or have acid thrown in their faces by Hezbollah and Basiji thugs.

Sharia. Just the word to me is like a kick in the stomach, particularly when I hear it being mentioned favourably. I know in this day and age of multiculturalism, it is not surprising to find tolerance for even the most intolerable of things, but, I still have to catch my breath when I hear the very word.

I suppose it is because I can not hear it without remembering sixteen-year-old Atefeh Rajabi hung for crimes against chastity; mother of three Maryam Ayoubi stoned to death for sex outside of marriage; Shirin Alam-Hoei who was sentenced to life in prison for enmity against God; and Neda Agha-Soltan who was shot dead at a June 2009 protest in Tehran, and whose twentieth birthday would have been on January 23, 2010.

Now, I know there are those who will say that these examples I give, or the many others we have come to know so well, are merely harsh interpretations of Sharia law — that Sharia law is misunderstood, and that it is not entirely medieval and draconian. But, one need only take a glance around the world to see the extent of its brutality.

To say it is misunderstood is merely an exercise in PR, which aims to make Sharia more palatable to a western audience and pave the way for its, at least partial, implementation in places like the United Kingdom. The Islamists have no time for such niceties when you are living under their rule.

Of course Sharia law rulings on divorce and child custody are not the same as its rulings on stoning and amputation. Yet, even in civil matters, a woman’s testimony is worth half that of a man’s; she does not have the right to child custody after a prescribed age regardless of the child’s welfare. A woman has limited rights to divorce whereas men have unilateral rights to divorce. Men can marry up to four wives, and, in the Shia tradition, have as many temporary wives as they want as well. Women can not even sign their own marriage contract; a male guardian must sign it on their behalf and so on and so forth.

The misogyny behind a law that stones a woman to death, and one that denies her the right to divorce from a violent husband, is a matter of degree — the fundamentals are the same. In fact, the civil aspects of Sharia law are some of the pillars of women’s oppression and the reason why so many have fled their homes and sought refuge elsewhere.

Clearly, Sharia law is seen to be draconian because it is.

It is perceived to be misogynist, medieval and barbaric because it is. >>> Posted by IWR | Monday, February 01, 2010

Iranian Police Shoot at Unarmed Protesters During Tehran Demonstrations
THE TELEGRAPH: Iranian police fired tear gas and live bullets as they fought back thousands of unarmed protesters on the streets of Tehran.

There were bloody clashes as young people launched a fresh wave of anti-government protests on the country's official Students Day.

Police used warning shots, baton charges and gas but failed to stop rallies, sit-ins and campus marches across the capital.

Universities in several cities, including Tehran's top seats of learning, were sealed off as guards checked identity cards of people trying to join the student demonstrations.

Earlier in the day, the authorities detained 23 members of a protest group of grieving mothers. They included the mother of Neda Agha-Soltan, known as the "Angel of Freedom", who was shot by pro-government militia at the height of demonstrations against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election in June.

Hajar Rostami-Motlaq has enraged the authorities by condemning pro-government students who accused British agents of killing Miss Soltan.

She was later released but friends expressed concern for other members of the protest group, Mourning Mothers of Iran, who were rounded up at a weekly protest in Tehran's Laleh Park.

Supporters of opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi chanted "Death to the dictator" and "Do not be scared. We are all together", according to witnesses at the rallies on university campuses. >>> Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Monday, December 07, 2009

Iran: Campaign Launched to Annoint Neda Agha-Soltan Time Magazine's Person of the Year 2009
THE LOS ANGELES TIMES: The flickering images of Neda Agha-Soltan’s last moments in a Tehran street on June 20 before she died from gunshot wounds gripped the world, galvanized the nation and made the 26-year-old music student the face of Iran’s recent protest movement.

Five months after an unknown assailant took her life at a demonstration in the Iranian capital staged by pro-reform activists, supporters across the world have spearheaded a grassroots initiative in a move to immortalize her.

Through the use of various social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, they are pushing to make Agha-Soltan Time magazine’s Person of the Year 2009.

Each year, the U.S.-based magazine grants the title to one or several persons who "most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill, and embodied what was important about the year."

Administrators of the more than 1,000-member strong Facebook group "Nominate Neda Agha-Soltan as the Time Woman of the Year" say she deserves the title because she has become “the symbol of the recent Iranian movement towards democracy and freedom" through her tragic death that shocked the world.

Members of the group are encouraged to send letters to Time magazine to vote for Agha-Soltan and spread the word to their friends.

The campaign is also triggering traffic on the micro-blogging service Twitter, where supporters of the initiative are "tweeting" their thoughts on why Time magazine should choose Agha-Soltan as its Person of the Year and calling on fellow Twitterers to give her their vote. >>> Babylon & Beyond | Thursday, November 19, 2009

Grave of Neda Soltan Desecrated by Supporters of Iranian Regime
TIMES ONLINE: Supporters of Iran’s regime have desecrated the grave of Neda Soltan, the student who became a symbol of the opposition after she was shot dead during an anti-goverment demonstration on June 20.

The incident was confirmed by Ms Soltan’s fiancé, Caspian Makan, who fled from Iran after being released on bail following 65 days in prison. A recording of Ms Soltan’s mother weeping and cursing those responsible has been posted on the internet.

Mr Makan, 38, also disclosed that the regime tried to force him and Ms Soltan’s parents to say that she was killed by the opposition, not by a government militiaman on a motorbike as eyewitnesses have claimed. A documentary to be shown on BBC Two next week contains an unseen clip of demonstrators catching the militiaman seconds after the shooting.

Mr Makan, who is in hiding said: “The breaking of Neda’s gravestone broke the hearts of millions of freedom-loving people around the world. The repressors, believing they can stifle the cries for freedom, have even attacked, beaten, threatened and insulted Neda’s parents. This is while the Islamic Republic of Iran denies Neda’s murder.” >>> Martin Fletcher | Monday, November 16, 2009

Exclusive: Boyfriend Speaks of His Love for Neda Agha Soltan, Murdered Iranian Protester
THE OBSERVER: Neda was prepared 'to take a bullet in the heart' in fight against President Ahmadinejad

Neda Agha Soltan, the young Iranian woman whose face became the international symbol of protest against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, told her fiancé she was prepared to "take a bullet in the heart" in the fight against the president's regime.

The revelation comes as her boyfriend speaks out for the first time after being imprisoned following Neda's death last June, when she was shot by Iranian police at a demonstration in Tehran. Caspian Makan, a photographer, spent two months in prison for criticising the authorities after her death. In a moving interview, he told the Observer that far from being a bystander caught up in the demonstrations, she was committed to the overthrow of Ahmadinejad. As a result of her high-profile presence at the protests, he believes she was targeted by the regime loyalists who killed her.

Makan has fled Iran and given two in-depth interviews. His meeting with director Angus Macqueen, which is featured in today's Observer Review, will appear in a BBC film about Neda. In both interviews she emerges as a markedly different figure to the young woman depicted at the time of her death. Her fiancé describes her as politically active and assertive, convinced she was fighting for "democracy and freedom" for Iranians. Neda joined the first wave of protests. After the election results were announced, she headed to the Interior Ministry in central Tehran – a focal point for the emerging movement supporting Ahamdinejad's election rival, Mir Hossein Mousavi. Makan remembers telling her that the scenes she described to him would quickly lead to a violent response from the regime.

She said: "No, they will continue because the people are too many and the scale too widespread… Everyone is responsible for reaching democracy," Makan recalls her as saying. "If I get shot in the heart or arrested, it's not important because we are all responsible for our future." >>> Iason Athanasiadis | Sunday, November 15, 2009

Caspian Makan: 'I Cannot Believe It Yet. I Still Think I Will See Neda Again'
THE OBSERVER: Neda Agha Soltan, killed on camera by a sniper's bullet, became the symbol of opposition to Iranian President Ahmadinejad this summer. Her boyfriend, Caspian Makan, who has just fled the country, talks to Arash Sahami and Angus Macqueen about their romance, his imprisonment after her death and his terrifying escape

A demonstrator holds a photo of dead Iranian student Neda Agha-Soltan during a protest in New York. Photo: The Observer
Caspian Makan has been run over by the blind, careering juggernaut of history. Just five months ago his girlfriend was killed on the streets of Tehran, one of some 80 deaths reliably reported during the tumultuous demonstrations that followed the disputed presidential elections. Most victims' relatives and friends have grieved in private – but Neda Agha Soltan, Caspian's girlfriend, died live on phone camera, an almost unbearable 90-second sequence that turned her into an icon. Uploaded on to the internet, within hours her face became the face of protest.

But symbols destroy lives. In the days and weeks that followed, Caspian has lost not only the woman he was planning to marry, but also his country, his family, his friends and his career. Anyone and everyone who had anything to do with Neda's death are now toxic to the Iranian government. Members of her family have been bullied, threatened and even detained. The doctor who is caught on camera trying to save her life is now exiled in Britain. The music teacher who was with her when she died has been rolled out on Iranian television, patently required to deny what he saw: that Neda was shot by a member of the religious militia.

And Caspian disappeared. In the days after her killing, he spoke out on foreign satellite stations and then vanished. Finally it was confirmed he was in the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran – the frightening symbol of the Shah's oppressive regime smoothly transferred into the hands of the Islamic Republic's secret police. He was held for more than two months, some of that time in solitary confinement. In September he was released on bail pending trial – perhaps being prepared for one of the extraordinary show trials that have been broadcast on Iranian TV over the past months, in which leading supporters of the opposition have been obliged to recant their actions. Urged on by family and friends, Caspian decided he had to escape. >>> The Observer | Sunday, November 15, 2009

'An Iranian Martyr', directed by Monica Garnsey, will be broadcast on BBC2 on Tuesday, 24 November, at 9pm.

Persecution of Doctor Who Treated Neda Soltan
TIMES ONLINE: As Arash Hejazi sat in an Oxford coffee bar, members of Iran’s Basij militia in Tehran were demanding his extradition outside the British Embassy.

The previous day the Iranian regime had sent an Oxford college a letter of protest over a scholarship given to honour Neda Soltan, the student killed during a huge demonstration against electoral fraud in Tehran in June. The letter also suggested that Dr Hejazi was responsible for her murder.

For Dr Hejazi, who had tried to save Ms Soltan’s life, that was the final straw. He decided that it was time to speak out. It was time to reveal how the regime has sought to vilify, punish and silence him ever since he told the world, immediately after Ms Soltan’s death, how she had been shot by a government henchman for peacefully protesting against President Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election.

Dr Hejazi is now living in exile in Britain, jobless and fearful, while back in Tehran the regime blackens his name and hounds his friends, family and colleagues. “I told the truth. I just did what I had to do, but there were dire consequences,” he told The Times. In short, a quirk of fate — that he happened to be standing near Ms Soltan the moment that she was shot — has turned his entire life upside down and made him “another victim of tyranny”. Iranian doctor Arash Hejazi who tried to rescue Neda Soltan tells of wounds that never heal >>> Martin Fletcher | Friday, November 13, 2009

Oxford’s Tribute to Student Neda Soltan Denounced by Iran
TIMES ONLINE: Iran’s regime denounced the University of Oxford yesterday because one of its colleges has established a scholarship honouring Neda Soltan, the Iranian student killed during street protests in Tehran over the alleged rigging of the presidential election.

In a letter sent from the Iranian Embassy, the regime claimed that Miss Soltan’s death in June was staged by its enemies. It accused the university of joining a “politically motivated” campaign that would “undermine your scientific credibility” and “make Oxford at odd [sic] with the rest of the world’s academic institutions”.

In response, the university emphasised that the decision to award the scholarship was entirely a matter for the college, Queen’s. Professor Paul Madden, Provost of Queen’s, said that the scholarship would help impoverished Iranians to study at Oxford.

Miss Soltan, a philosophy student, was 26 when she was shot in the chest during a demonstration over President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election that engulfed Tehran on June 20. Video footage of blood pouring from her mouth as she lay dying sped around the world. Miss Soltan became an emblem of the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom, and her death a symbol of the regime’s brutality. >>> Martin Fletcher and Greg Hurst | Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Related articles >>>

United for Neda

The Face of Abbas Kargar Javid — Man Accused of Killing Neda Soltan
TIMES ONLINE: The man accused of killing Neda Soltan has been identified as Abbas Kargar Javid, a pro-government militiaman, after photographs of the Basiji’s ID cards appeared on the internet.

The identification challenges the Iranian regime’s claim that foreign agents shot the young woman, who became a global symbol of resistance to the Government of President Ahmadinejad.

One picture appears on Mr Javid’s Basij identification card, which was taken off him by the crowd that stopped him briefly when he fled the murder scene during a massive demonstration against electoral fraud on June 20.

Photographs of that card and another that was issued by the Interior Ministry have been posted on the internet, and the doctor who tried to save Ms Soltan as she lay dying on a Tehran pavement has confirmed that they show the man who was stopped.

“I can testify for certain that it is the same person,” Arash Hejazi told The Times.

Dr Hejazi said that he had checked with others who witnessed Mr Javid’s detention and they, too, had confirmed that it was the same man. He expressed disgust that a regime that had detained, tortured and killed so many peaceful demonstrators in the past ten weeks had — as far as he knew — taken no action against Mr Javid. “That’s how fair the situation is in Iran right now,” he said.

The regime has put blame for Ms Soltan’s murder on fellow demonstrators, the CIA, hostile foreign governments including Britain, and even the BBC, whose Tehran correspondent, Jon Leyne, was accused of organising the shooting to get good pictures. >>> Martin Fletcher | Thursday, August 20, 2009

New Momentum — but No Clear Goal — for Iran's Street Protests
TIME: Not a single fan showed up Aug. 7 for the opening match of Iran's avidly followed football season. After the government caught wind of plans by protesters to bring the street demonstrations into the 100,000-seat national stadium, authorities decided to have the two rival teams from Tehran and Isfahan play to an empty house rather than risk yet another embarrassing show of green and chants of "Death to the dictators."

In recent days, despite the regime's heavy-handed efforts to stifle the resistance, public demonstrations have become more decentralized and frequent as protesters become increasingly bold and defiant. This shift in mood — from despondency in late June after the Basij fired on protesters following the June 12 presidential election, to a renewed sense of optimism — signals that the vocal opposition movement will not be going away anytime soon. "It's the national duty of every single man and woman to go to the streets," said a university student protester in her mid-20s. "This is far from over."

According to interviews with a half-dozen protesters, their objective appears to have evolved beyond reclaiming the votes for Mir-Hossein Mousavi in the disputed election. The aim is now to attack the very legitimacy of the theocracy. The immediate triggers for street protests, however, vary and are often tied to significant dates; for instance, in the past week demonstrators marched to protest the inauguration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to a second term, to object to the renewed mass trial of political dissidents and, on another occasion, simply to take advantage of a religious holiday when many devout Basij members would be in mosques.

The most dramatic protests came July 30, when thousands turned out to commemorate the death of Neda Agha-Soltan, the 26-year-old woman whose death was captured on video and seen around the world. Because the two centers of protest were at opposite ends of the sprawling capital, security forces were spread too thin and could not quell the crowds in many neighborhoods; protesters began chanting "Death to Khamenei," a phrase almost no one dared utter in previous protests. >>> TIME Staff | Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Police Use Batons and Tear Gas at Neda Soltan Ceremony
TIMES ONLINE: It was meant to be a solemn religious ceremony in a cemetery where countless Islamic revolutionaries and martyrs are buried. Instead, the security forces turned the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery near Tehran into a battlefield yesterday, attacking hundreds of mourners with batons and teargas and driving opposition leaders away before they could even offer their prayers.

The occasion was the end of the 40-day mourning period for Neda Soltan, the student who became an icon of the opposition movement when she was killed in one of the protests after the disputed re-election of President Ahmadinejad.

It was marked not by prayers and readings from the Koran but by the desecration of the cemetery and, on the streets of the capital, battles between the regime’s forces and thousands of defiant Iranians who have refused to abandon their dreams of freedom.

As darkness fell the clashes continued. Observers said that the demonstrators were becoming increasingly fearless and that other protests held recently had been broken up much faster. “They are holding their own. They’re taking the beatings in their stride,” said one witness.

Tyres and rubbish skips burnt on the pavements, the air reeked of teargas and there were reports of gunfire. Many were arrested and the Basij smashed the windows of cars whose drivers supported the protesters by hooting.

The demonstrators, however, had once again made their point: seven weeks after the election, and despite their brutal tactics and mass arrests, the security forces have conspicuously failed to crush the opposition.

“We’re here to show that we’re here to stay. We are a fact the Government has to face,” said Ahmad, a shopkeeper. Maryam, an office worker, said: “We’re out here to show our hatred. You keep hearing about what they did to people in these prisons and all you feel is anger and disgust.”

The inauguration of Mr Ahmadinejad, which is due to take place on Wednesday, will lead to more demonstrations. Mir Hossein Mousavi, his defeated challenger, is expected to build on the opposition’s unexpected momentum by starting a broad political movement to fight for justice and democracy. >>> Martin Fletcher | Friday, July 31, 2009

Security forces, protesters face off in Iran

Iran Security Forces Retreat as Huge Numbers of Mourners Gather at Cemetery
LOS ANGELES TIMES: As many as tens of thousands of protesters meet at the grave of Neda Agha-Soltan, whose shooting death was videotaped. Meanwhile, the first group of protesters arrested in the unrest heads to trial.

Reporting from Tehran and Beirut -- Thousands and possibly tens of thousands of mourners, many of them black-clad young women carrying roses, overwhelmed security forces today at Tehran's largest cemetery to gather around the grave of Neda Agha-Soltan, the young woman whose videotaped shooting at a June 20 demonstration stunned the world.

Amateur video apparently taken at Behesht Zahra cemetery and quickly uploaded to the Internet shows a sea of mourners moving through the cemetery chanting slogans.

"Death to the dictator," chanted those in one long procession, kicking up a storm of dust as they walked. "Neda is not dead. This government is dead."

Afterward, the crowds began to gather in front of central Tehran's Grand Mossala mosque, defying authorities who had prohibited the use of the site. Protesters chanted slogans as they rode the subway to the venue, setting the stage for more clashes as dusk approached.

Uniformed security forces initially clashed violently today with some of the mourners, supporters and leaders of the opposition, who were there to protest and grieve for those killed in recent unrest. Unsuccessful presidential candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi attempted to attend the graveside ceremony marking the religiously significant 40th day since the death of Agha-Soltan and others killed in the fighting.

"Oh, Hossein! Mir-Hossein," the mourners chanted in support of him. >>> Borzou Daragahi and Ramin Mostaghim | Thursday, July 30, 2009

Iranian Police Beat Up Mourners at Ceremony for Neda Soltan
TIMES ONLINE: Baton-wielding Iranian riot police arrested mourners and drove away opposition leaders as they tried to stage a ceremony in a Tehran cemetery to commemorate protesters killed in anti-government demonstrations last month.

Ignoring Islamic customs and traditions, the security forces beat and detained many of the 2000-odd people who came to mark the end of the 40-day mourning period at the grave of Neda Soltan, the young student who has become an icon of the opposition movement.

When Mir Hossein Mousavi, the movement’s leader, arrived at the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery on the baking plains south of the capital, he was mobbed by supporters who chanted “Mousavi we support you” and “Death to the Dictator”.

Foreign journalists are banned from Iran, but witnesses said the former prime minister managed to leave his car and walk up to Ms Soltan’s grave before the police stopped him. “Mousavi was however not allowed to recite the Koran verses said at such occasions and he was immediately surrounded by anti-riot police who led him to his car,” said one.

The police then had to push back a large crowd gathered around Mr Mousavi’s vehicle so he could leave.

Later Mehdi Karoubi, another defeated presidential candidate, arrived. Witnesses said he was swiftly surrounded by police. Mourners pelted the security forces with stones and shouted “Today is a mourning day.” >>> Martin Fletcher | Thursday, July 30, 2009

Listen to BBC audio: A mother’s anguish >>> | Wednesday, July 29, 2009

’United for Neda’

Gegen Ahmadinedschad: Weltweiter Aktionstag stützt Proteste in Teheran
WELT ONLINE: Begleitet von Kundgebungen in aller Welt haben in Teheran erneut Hunderte Anhänger der iranischen Opposition gegen die Wiederwahl von Präsident Mahmud Ahmadinedschad protestiert. Polizei und Angehörige der regierungstreuen Miliz gingen laut Augenzeugen gewaltsam gegen die Demonstranten vor.

Weltweit demonstrierten Tausende für die Menschenrechte und gegen die Niederschlagung der Proteste im Iran. In Berlin gingen mehrere hundert Menschen auf die Straße, in Frankfurt gab es mehrere Demonstrationszüge.

Oppositionsanhänger in den Teheraner Stadtbezirken Wanak und Mirdamad riefen „Tod dem Diktator“ und „Wir wollen unsere Stimme zurück“. Bei Einbruch der Nacht stiegen zahlreiche Teheraner auf ihre Dächer und riefen offenbar mit Blick auf die internationalen Proteste: „Mutige Nachbarn, danke für eure Unterstützung!“

Bei einer Kundgebung vor hunderten Menschen in Amsterdam rief die iranische Friedensnobelpreisträgerin Schirin Ebadi die internationale Gemeinschaft auf, das Wahlergebnis nicht anzuerkennen. Sie forderte eine neue Abstimmung unter Aufsicht der Vereinten Nationen.

In London versammelten sich rund 600 Demonstranten vor der iranischen Botschaft. In Brüssel führten Protestierende Plakate mit Fotos von Inhaftierten oder Getöteten mit sich, darunter von Neda Agha Soltan, die nach ihrem Tod zu einem Symbol der Protestbewegung wurde.

In Paris gingen ebenfalls hunderte Menschen auf die Straße. Auch vor dem UN-Sitz in Genf und in Rom wurde demonstriert, außerdem in zahlreichen weiteren Städten von Tokio über Stockholm bis Washington und Sao Paulo. „Den Leuten droht Folter, und ihr Leben ist in Gefahr“, sagte Lenka Petronova, die Organisatorin eines Protestmarsches in Prag. >>> AP/ro | Sonntag, 26. Juli 2009