Green Report #24 – Fresh News from Iran – July 10

by | Jul 11, 2009 | Featured, General

I’m NiteOwl AKA Josh Shahryar – twitter.com/iran_translator on twitter – and I’ve been immersed in tweets from Iran for the past several hours. I have tried to be extremely careful in choosing my tweet sources. What I have compiled below is what I can confirm through my reliable twitter sources. Remember, this is all from tweets.

1. There was a gathering of the families of those detained during the protests in Tehran today. Protesters stood in front of Kalantari 103 Pasdaran, 140 Baghe Faiz and Enghelab Square. Numbers cannot be confirmed, but the numbers were probably small.

2. It has not been confirmed that Basijis attacked the dorms of the Polytechnic University yesterday. The presence of Rafsanjani’s family was also partially confirmed. Still no word of whether Mousavi joined mourners later in the evening like he said he would.

3. Police in Nicosia, Cyprus clashes with Iranian protesters in front of the Iranian Embassy. People were seen being dragged and reports indicate that several were arrested and held for several hours. Whether this was from July 09 cannot be confirmed at this point. Here’s a video related to the incident: Revolutionary Road…: Shame on Cyprus police!

Government / International

4. Ayatollah Hashim Hashim-Zadeh Hareesi – a member of the Assembly of Experts – said today that people had started to distrust the system. He explained that whatever had happened after the election had caused people to become suspicious and that the government needed to take strides to restore people’s trust otherwise, distrust could result in further more severe problems.

5. Tehran’s Interim Fridays Prayers Leader Ayatollah Mohammad Emami-Kashani asked the Majlis of Iran to take measures in solving some short-comings that are present in the current electoral law. According to Ayatollah Emami Kashani, the unrest that followed the recent election was a result of those short-comings.

6. The Guardian Council’s spokesperson, Abbas Ali Kadkhodaie said today that the Guardian Council was currently going over the entire election. According to him, the Council will soon release a detailed report about the election. The Council has already affirmed the impartiality and accuracy of the election which leaves little room for further investigation into charges of fraud.

7. The French Ambassador in Tehran met with Clotilde Reiss, the detained Frenchwoman who’s currently being held in Iran on charges of espionage. According to the ambassador, Ms. Reiss looked in good mental health. It is not clear as of yet when she will be released.

8. Iran’s government today summoned the German ambassador and questioned him about the death of an Egyptian woman in Germany at the hands of racist extremists. Iranian TV continues to show her death and accuse the West of acting against Muslims in Europe.

9. The G7 nations + Russia have given Iran till September to restart negotiations on its controversial nuclear program. It was unclear what Iran’s rejection of this offer would entail. The statement came during a meeting in l’Aquila, Italy where the group was meeting to go over the world-wide economic downturn.

10. A U.S. panel has demanded that Baha’is facing trial in Iran be released immediately. Baha’is are a religious minority in Iran who believe in a universal religion and are fervent supporters of world peace. They are openly persecuted because of the country’s strict religious laws.

11. The Canadian government also summoned the Iranian ambassador in Ottawa and demanded the immediate release of Canadian-Iranian journalist Mazyar Bahari. Bahari has been detained for a while now and the government is trying to keep a lid on his whereabouts. He works for Newsweek.

Arrests / Releases / Deaths

12. Iranian-American Scholar, Kian Tajbakhsh has been arrested according to reliable sources. Majid Durri has also been rearrested. There are also reports that security forces arrested several students during their raid at Amir Kabir University’s dorm. Their fate remains unknown.

13. The only person released today was Kambiz Noroozi, yet his release cannot be fully confirmed. Family members of several political prisoners – including those of Mirdamadi and Hajjarian – met with Ayatollah Mousavi Aradabeli today. Ayatollah Ardabeli consoled the families and discussed the issue with them. He later said that this is an important issue and needed to be dealt with as soon as possible.

14. Reports have now surfaced that people detained during yesterday’s protests have been moved to Evin Prison. The prison is reportedly so full that people are kept in the corridors. Sources have confirmed that people are being viciously tortured and detainees are underfed. Many are facing solitary confinement.

Media

15. Fars News has reported that the government has discovered a recording studio belonging to the BBC at Mousavi’s campaign headquarters. Iranian media continues to beat the drum of an Egyptian woman’s death in Germany and protests yesterday were for the most part, ignored.

Source: Iran.WhyWeProtest.net