Den Of Spies.

Den of spies, a common slogan in Tehran, but with a different slant nowadays as opponents of the Ahmadinejad’s regime use the occasion to protest, the New York Times reports:

The protests — in Tehran and several other cities — were the opposition’s largest street showing in almost two months, and came on the 30th anniversary of the takeover of the United States Embassy in 1979, a day of great symbolic importance for both Iran and the United States. Although a huge deployment of police beat back and scattered many of them, the protesters took heart at their ability to openly challenge the government despite a stream of stark warnings from all levels of Iran’s conservative establishment.

Protesters openly flouted the day’s official anti-American message, with about a thousand people, many wearing clothing and accessories in the opposition’s signature bright green color, gathering outside the Russian Embassy in Tehran and chanting, “The real den of spies is the Russian embassy.”

The American embassy has been called the “den of spies” in Iran for decades. But many opposition supporters were angered by Russia’s early acceptance of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed victory in Iran’s June presidential elections.

It was a day of scattered protests and violence across central Tehran, and even some government authorities seemed to grudgingly concede that the opposition had — for the first time — disrupted the annual anti-American rally. The official IRNA news agency reported in midafternoon that “rioters,” many wearing the opposition’s green symbols, had gathered in front of its offices on Valiasr Street chanting “Death to the Dictator” and other anti-government slogans.”

November 4th.

Whilst I think about things, take a look at Coatesy’s coverage of events in Iran.

Update 1: I will aim to cover this topic in more detail in the future, but it seems that there are continued demonstrations going-on in various Universities in Iran.

On this particular YouTube channel there are at least 5 video clips seemingly from the 3rd Nov. 2009.

Update 2: The blog, Revolutionary Road, has plenty of good material, especially the Bridge Journal.

Losing Sight Of The Dividing Line.

Thanks to Engage for pointing out a post on the CST blog, which makes a comparison between the type of coverage given to the Holocaust denying, Ahmadinejad.

No one in the West, and particularly Guardian readers with access to the Internet, should have any illusions about Ahmadinejad, it seems that barely a month goes by when he is either fiddling elections or denying the Holocaust, as he did recently on the annual Al Quds Day as RTE reports:

“Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said the Holocaust was a ‘myth’, reiterating comments that sparked outrage around the world.

‘The very existence of this regime is an insult to the dignity of the people,’ the hardliner said as he addressed the annual Quds Day rally in Tehran referring to Israel.

‘They (Western powers) launched the myth of the Holocaust. They lied, they put on a show and then they support the Jews.’

‘If as you claim the Holocaust is true, why can a study not be allowed?’ the Iranian president said to chants of ‘Death to Israel’ from the crowd gathered for the annual display of solidarity with the Palestinians.

‘The pretext for establishing the Zionist regime is a lie… a lie which relies on an unreliable claim, a mythical claim, and the occupation of Palestine has nothing to do with the Holocaust,’ he added.

Similar comments made by Mr Ahmadinejad shortly after his first election as president in 2005 also sparked an international outcry. “

So no one should be in any doubt concerning Ahmadinejad’s blatant Holocaust denial, except those at the Guardian, as Mark Gardner points out:

“Now of course the Guardian would never mean it like that – well, not like Ahmadinejad means it anyway. And of course the Guardian would neither threaten another Holocaust, nor deny the last one.

Nevertheless, the Guardian as an institution – and as a consequence much of its constituency – has clearly allowed its hostility against Israel to erode both its understanding of antisemitism; and its vigilance against imagery that evokes deeply rooted antisemitic stereotypes.

This is not so much a conscious decision, or some covert antisemitic conspiracy: it is simply what happens when, over time, basically decent people lose sight of the dividing line between criticism and hatred, and between scathing political comment and racist abuse. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule at both the Guardian and throughout the wider Left, but they are swimming against the tide.”

Update 1: Not forgetting that even Juan Cole finally admits Ahmadinejad is articulating antisemitism, a welcome acknowledgment, but about 4 years too late as Adam Holland ably dissects.

Saeed Rostami Update.

News in from Facebook:

“Saeed Rostami, an Afghan immigrant worker in Iran who was arrested during this year’s May 1st celebrations in the Park of Laleh in Tehran along with about 150 other people, was released from prison on Wednesday September 16th at 02.30 PM after four and a half months in prison.

First an interrogator from the Security Department of the Court of Ba’sat ordered Sa’id Rostami to post a hundred million tomans bail after accusing him of acting against the national security. After hearing him and based on Sa’id’s statements that he is an Afghan citizen and that he doesn’t hold residence permit, the Security Department sent his case to the court for further studies. Sa’id Rostami was held in prison for an uncertain time, until the court studied his case and issued his release on Wednesday September 9th.

Saturday September 12th while Sa’id was leaving the jail, an officer guarding the exit door of Evin Prison told him that he had to leave Iran and returned him to the prison. Sunday September 13th he was once again dispatched to the court from where he was taken to a camp in order to be deported, but the authorities in the camp didn’t take him in and Sa’id was once again transferred back to the Evin Prison.

After this, on Wednesday September 16th, Sa’id Rostami’s case was handled again in the same court, where the judge ordered his release on the same day at 02.30 in the afternoon.

It is worth mentioning that the officials in the Iranian Free Trade Union and other labor activists have been following Sa’id’s case ever since and have worked hard for his release by taking different actions such as visiting the Embassy of Afghanistan and assigning a lawyer (Dr. Awliya’i-far) for him.

The Iranian Free Trade Union congratulates from heart Sa’id’s family and friends on his release and is happy that he wasn’t deported. We also declare our solidarity with the Afghan immigrant workers in Iran in their fight against discrimination and for earning the right to Iranian citizenship, and we tell them that we are their allies.

Long Live the International Solidarity of the Working Class
Iranian Free Trade Union
September 16th 2009″

Tyrants’ Lackey.

Comrade Coatesy has more on Ahmadinejad’s would-be lackey and faithful apologist.

Mean While In That Theocratic Dictatorship.

No TUC motion on Iran? Nothing about the fiddled election?

Nothing about the anti-Jewish racist, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?

Nothing about neo-nazi shindigs in Tehran?

Nothing about the attacks on Mansour Osanloo and other trade unionists?

Nothing about the street protests in Iran?

Nothing about the very nature of the dictatorship in Tehran?

Still, brave Iranians took their fight straight to Ahmadinejad as he was spouting more Holocaust denial, the Guardian reports:

“Iran’s opposition Green movement put on a powerful show of strength today against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the hardline president repeated his notorious claim that the Nazi Holocaust was a “lie” designed to justify the existence of Israel.

Tens of thousands of people gathered in central Tehran to shout “death to the dictator” despite a heavy security presence and official warnings to the opposition not to hijack the Quds (Jerusalem) Day rally, the regime’s annual display of solidarity with the Palestinians.

Maziar Bahari.

Maziar Bahari is another victim of excessive repression in Iran, he’s been locked up without charge for 64+ days.

I urge people to publicise his plight.

Rebellion In The Air

According to a radio report they had to hide the precise location of Ahmadinejad’s confirmation for fear of protests, but they still happened, as the Washington Post reports:

“The sober ceremony, in which Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accepted an awkward kiss on the shoulder in a show of fealty from Ahmadinejad, was notable for the absence of prominent political and religious figures, as well as relatives of the country’s late revolutionary leader and opposition presidential candidates, who continue to dispute the results of the June 12 election.

Afterward, witnesses reported unrest in central Tehran, and security forces deployed to prevent government opponents from demonstrating against a second four-year term for Ahmadinejad. Riot police and pro-government Basij militia turned out in force on main streets and squares, where groups of protesters attempted to gather and where motorists honked car horns in a show of opposition, witnesses said.

“I heard people honking in their cars, and security forces shot tear gas,” said one witness in a phone call from a shop on Vali-e Asr Street. “Everything became chaotic. There was shooting, and I saw them arresting an old woman.”

The semiofficial Fars news agency reported that opposition presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi showed up at a demonstration against the inauguration, joining about 100 supporters at a street intersection before riot police broke up the gathering. Iranian state television charged that Karroubi, 71, a Shiite cleric and former parliamentary speaker, was “egging on the hooligans,” who chanted slogans such as “death to the dictator!” “

Over at HOPI.

HOPI has more videos of the struggle in Iran and a piece about Alireza Davoudi:

“Hopi activists have just received the sad news that Iranian activist Alireza Davoudi died yesterday from a heart attack resulting from the extreme torture he was subjected to in the Islamic Republic’s jails. This is a sad loss to our movement and our hearts go out to his family, comrades and friends.”

Show Trials Begin.

The theocracy in Iran has started its prosecution of protesters in the wake of the fiddled election, the Guardian has more:

“The first trials of opposition political activists and protesters arrested after June’s disputed Iranian presidential election began today.

Up to 100 defendants were reported by Iranian media to be appearing before a court in the capital, Tehran, accused of violence following the 12 June vote.

The election sparked days of protests as thousands of Iranians took to the streets to denounce the official results, which declared victory for the incumbent president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.”

This is a statement from the reformist camp, via Google translation, make of it what you will.

The Huff Post suggests that they are not allowed lawyers and there is no jury.

Locked Up Lawyers.

The repressive state in Iran made a preemptive move against Human Right’s lawyers according to HRW:

“(New York, July 26, 2009) – Iranian authorities continue to arrest prominent human rights lawyers in an attempt to prevent them from representing reform supporters detained following Iran’s disputed presidential election, Human Rights Watch said today. Other lawyers have been threatened.

“Iranian authorities are trying to create an atmosphere of fear among all lawyers who agree to defend political prisoners,” said Joe Stork, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East division. “Many reform supporters arrested after the presidential elections have been denied access to their lawyers, and now they’re finding the lawyers imprisoned with them.”

On July 15, 2009, plainclothes security forces seized human rights lawyer Shadi Sadr on the street while she was walking to attend Friday prayers. On July 21, security forces telephoned Mohammad Seifzadeh, another leading human rights defense lawyer, and threatened to take steps (which they did not specify) to prevent him from continuing his human rights activities.

Hadi Esmaielzadeh and Manijeh Mohammadi were among other human rights lawyers who were questioned by the security section of the Tehran prosecutor’s office a few days after the June 12 election. Seifzadeh, Esmaielzadeh, and Mohammadi are all members of the Human Rights Defenders Center (HRDC), a prominent human rights organization led by Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi, which security forces have threatened to close on a number of occasions in recent years.

“They told me not to cooperate with Shirin Ebadi,” Seifzadeh, who is a board member of HRDC, told Human Rights Watch.”

25th July 2009.

United 4 Iran has an inspiring video for the 25th July global day of action:

Four Questions About That Fiddle Election

An article on Huff Post asks four questions, and one of them is a bit obvious:

“Four major issues warrant focus: (1) The Iranian government’s ability to gather, transport, and count 40-plus million hand-written ballots within a few hours in a country approximately one-fifth the size of the United States of America and nearly seven times the size of the United Kingdom; (2) Whether the protests really have spread beyond universities and major cities; (3) The role of technology in spread and suppression of dissent; and (4) What motivates the protestors and major political players in Iran.”

Elsewhere Mousavi confirms he will formalise things by what the BBC calls “a new broad-based political front.”

Update: A reader has asked me to tell you about July 25th designated Global Day of Action for Iran.

Also see www.united4iran.org to find rallies in your area.

Iran Still Simmering.

The Gulf Daily News reports:

“TEHRAN: The wife of Iranian opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi said yesterday her 62-year-old brother was among those detained after last month’s disputed election in what she called a futile attempt to pressure her husband and herself.

Zahra Rahnavard also warned authorities that Iranians would not believe any “forced confessions” from her brother.

Her comments were the latest in a series of defiant statements by Mousavi and his allies, who insist the June 12 presidential election that declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad winner was rigged.

“We have tried all legal and peaceful means to try to win his release along with other detainees,” Rahnavard, a prominent artist and academic who campaigned for her husband in the election, told ILNA news agency.

Metro News has more:

“Rahnavard on Thursday said the Iranian people would not believe any “forced confessions.” Of her brother, she said, “accusations of provoking riots or connections to foreigners … are unimaginable.”

She warned those that are making accusations against detainees that “a divine anger will catch them and the nation will reject them.”

Rahnavard, a former dean of Tehran’s al-Zahra University, campaigned alongside her husband in the election, a rarity for a candidate’s wife, which made her a star among women and student supporters. Her original name is Zohreh Kazemi but she changed it in the 1960s when she became an activist against the U.S.-backed shah, and she was a prominent activist in the 1979 revolution that brought the Islamic Republic to power.

Mousavi, meanwhile, sharply criticized what he called the increasing power of security forces in the postelection crackdown. Iran was “heading in the direction of becoming more militarized, more security-dominated, something no one will welcome,” he said.

“The security forces must move in the framework of the constitution to minimize the loses in this near-coup d’etat atmosphere,” he said Wednesday, according to ILNA. He said he would release a political platform soon calling for “activating neglected parts of the constitution” that ensure the people’s voice is heard and that security forces’ powers are kept in check. He did not elaborate.”

More Revolutuon In Iran.

As predicted the revolutionary spirit still continues within Iran.

The mighty theocracy with all of its repressive apparatus, the police, the army, the secret police, the Revolutionary guard and Basiji cannot stop it.

The fiddled presidential election broke the illusion that Ahmadinejad had a legitimate mandate. The subsequent repression, murder, imprisonment of protesters only reaffirmed that point.

The BBC’s reporting:

“Police clashed with hundreds of people marching despite a ban on public gatherings since the disputed election in June, Reuters news agency said.

The re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sparked widespread protests and allegations of vote-rigging.

Defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi has continued to contest the result.

Mr Mousavi has issued statements opposing the election result, saying detention of protesters would not end opposition. “