International Response to Abuse in Evin Prison
On April 17th, over 30 inmates in the 350 Ward of Iran’s Evin Prison were subjected to physical abuse and forcible head shavings, according to human rights groups outside of Iran. Victims included political prisoner Hossein Ronaghi Maleki and human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani, both of whom were imprisoned following the uprisings of the disputed […]
Bearing Witness: 22 Bahman
NIAC is liveblogging the events of Feb. 11 in Iran, which marks the latest day of planned opposition protests as well as the anniversary of the founding of the Islamic Republic. We encourage readers to share their own news and insights in the comments section below. 2:36 pm: More from the Senate presser. John McCain, […]
That’s Mr. Supreme Leader to You?
Following the news of Mehdi Karroubi ‘recognizing’ Ahmadinejad as head of government, many are quick to label him as a traitor, or wonder why the sudden softened stance from Karroubi. Although both Khatami and Karroubi dropped their demand for a new presidential election, the reformists still maintain that the presidential election was fraudulent. According to […]
Even More Crackdowns on Iranian Media
Radio Zamaneh reports ( via www.payvand.com) that Iran’s Ministry of Culture has cautioned fifteen newspapers for publishing criticism of Iran’s domestic unrest following the June presidential election. Iran’s Ministry of Culture has issued warnings for 15 newspapers for “spreading rumours” and “representing a false image of the country’s situation.” Seven of them were reprimanded for […]
More student protests: Sharif University, Tehran
Thanks to reader Jimmy: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEkhBAGX7Y8&feature=player_embedded]
State-TV: “Iran opposition marches on Quds Day”
Press TV (state-run English TV) confirmed the participation of the supporters of leading opposition figures Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi on of the Quds Day rally. Since the opposition leaders, activists and supporters are banned and indeed have been threatened from running any peaceful protests against the government, thousands of reformist supporters used Quds Day […]
Video compilation of Quds Day protests
BBC Persian has compiled some of the videos of today’s Quds Day demonstrations, which were held in the cities of Bushehr, Rasht, Tabriz, Isfahan, Shiraz, Ahvaz, and Mashhad, in addition to the capital city of Tehran. There is still no word yet on whether or not Mousavi attended any of the rallies today, though the […]
Quds Day Protest Turns Green
The LA Times has good coverage of today’s events. Tens of thousands of demonstrators chanting, “Not Gaza, not Lebanon, I sacrifice my life for Iran,” swarmed the streets of the capital, turning a day in support of the Palestinian cause into a major opposition rally. […] State-controlled Iranian television showed thousands of demonstrators wearing traditional […]
Rafsanjani out; Khatami, Mousavi, Karroubi in on Quds Day
According to BBC Persian, while Hashemi Rafsanjani has traditionally led the Friday prayer in the Quds Days for last years, Iranian authorities have announced Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Khatami will lead Tehran’s Friday prayer and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will also speak before the sermons. The capital’s Friday prayers headquarters announced in a Wednesday statement that Secretary-General […]
State-run propaganda surrounds Quds Day prayer
Three days before the important Quds Day’s ceremony in Iran, Iran’s state-run are organizing a concerted propaganda effort to mislead the public about who will lead the Friday Prayer in Tehran. According to mowjcamp, Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani has been expected to lead the Friday Prayer in Tehran on Quds day for nearly a week. Opposition […]
“Green Days” by Hana Makhmalbaf
Hana Makhmalbaf, a 21 year old Iranian director, brings the bloody street protests after June’s presidential vote to the big screen in the Venice film festival. Her film, “Green Days,” focuses on the run-up to the election on the streets of Tehran and features interviews with ordinary young people, mostly supporters of opposition candidate Mir […]
Abdolkarim Soroush: Religious Tyranny is Crumbling: Rejoice!
Abdolkarim Soroush, a famous Islamic intellectual, has harshly criticized Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an open letter and predicted the downfall of his regime. Soroush is an Iranian thinker, philosopher, reformer, Rumi scholar and a former professor at the University of Tehran, and is currently a visiting scholar at Georgetown Univeristy in Washington D.C. In a […]