Protests / Unrest
1. Partially confirmed reports from Tehran and other cities suggest that the government is sending some students home from their dorms, in anticipation of the September 18 protest. According to the source, these students had been identified as taking part in protests and the government is not taking any chances with them. It is unclear how many have been sent home, but the number could be in the hundreds. Unconfirmed reports indicate that the government is in the process of closing the dorms.
2. Greens all across Tehran are making and distributing flyers in major cities to get protesters out on the streets. An example, the flyer for Mashhad: http://bit.ly/7KJJG
3. New reports suggest that agents of Tehran’s Attorney General’s office took 15 boxes of papers and documents from the office of the Defenders of Prisoners’ Rights. The office was raided yesterday and closed down by the order of the Attorney General.
4. Yesterday, we reported that a protest may have occurred in Tehran – but could not confirm if it had taken place. (This protest was unrelated to the gatherings in front of Evin Prison and the Islamic Courts.) Today, a video has surfaced depicting the protest. We cannot confirm if this protest was held yesterday as yet: http://bit.ly/3ggSpf
5. Gatherings were held, on the occasion of the 19th of Ramadan in Tehran, Tabriz, Gorgan and Zanjan. The gatherings were attended by many reformists and Greens.
Reports in Persian:
Tehran: http://bit.ly/181wYc
Tabriz: http://bit.ly/CWQEk
Gorgan: http://bit.ly/13DC0
Zanjan: http://bit.ly/xNbVm
6. Chants of Allah o Akbar were heard louder than previous nights and some protesters denounced the government for arresting Alireza Beheshti.
7. Workers of Haft Tapeh Agricultural and Industrial Plant went on strike and held a protest on Wednesday. Hundreds of workers demanded that their wages be paid on time, overtime be paid and wages be increased. Protesters gathered in front of the management office and stayed there until the end of their working day.
Opposition
8. Mir Hossein Mousavi released a statement in response to the arrest of Alireza Beheshti and other reformists. Full translation by his Facebook team is copied below, (I have corrected some of the obvious translation ambiguities):
In the name of God, the Compassionate and the Merciful
The news of arrests of our dear brothers Dr. Seyyed Alireza Beheshti and Morteza Alviri, heads of the special committee investigating the abuse of victims of the recent events, and General Moghaddam head of the Veterans’ Committee of my election campaign have created a wave of shock and ambiguity in [the hearts of] those faithful to the Islamic establishment. They have been imprisoned while they are only guilty of following the revolutionary path, defending the serving of justice for the bloods that were unjustly shed and helping the families of the innocents that were imprisoned after the election. They are now in prison while those responsible for the recent disasters are free and the authorities are claiming that they will surely investigate the committed crimes. Are you going to do this by destroying the evidence of the crimes and imprisoning those who were following up on the victims’ rights?!
People’s dignities are protected in their children. Now people are asking those who claim to guard the Islamic Republic how they claim to be honoring the dignity of Ayatollah Dr. Beheshti – the innocent martyr of the revolution – by treating his family in such a way.
People of Iran:
It is obvious that your efforts to restore peace to the society are not going to be responded wisely. Dangerous days are ahead. Arresting individuals like Dr. Beheshti is a sign that forecasts more dangerous events. But evil is doomed and what benefits people will remain. Maintain your calm and awareness. The new series of events that have started, same as the other pathetic actions these days, won’t bring anything for your opponents but damage. Be careful not to let them provoke you and while destroying themselves not to harm your home and country.
I specially offer my condolences for the defamation of the innocent Beheshti to the children of that martyr, his students, followers, admirers and all devotees of the revolution and Islam; and pray to God that this sorrow which has been created in the hearts of our people would be compensated by enduring the honor of this family.
Mir Hossein Mousavi
September 9,2009
9. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Mehdi Karroubi, yet again, reaffirmed his commitment to getting justice for the oppressed. Excerpts are as follows:
“I feel I am obliged to defend the rights of people,” Karroubi said. “Political changes can come in two forms,” he said. “The change we are calling for is change within the system and constitution, the observation of citizenship rights.”
He was not specific about the opposition’s strategy, but sketched out goals for the coming months: loosen news media restrictions, freedom of assembly, an end to trials of opposition figures and revised laws to prevent the hard-line Guardian Council from having the final say on elections.
Full Interview: http://bit.ly/ov7fL
10. New reports from Qom indicate that Khamenei had attempted to sway the clerics opposed to Ahamdinejad in Qom by sending Sheikh Mohammad Yazdi to speak to them. Yazdi was shunned by the clerics in Qom and now relations between Khamenei and these clerics is degenerating.
Grand Ayatollah Safi-Golpayegani had sent a letter to Khamenei about female ministers in the government, expressing his opposition, however, Khamenei sent back a reply, stating that he was the Supreme Leader and other clerics should stay out of government affairs.
Ayatollah Nouri Hamedani has met with Ayatollah Safi-Golpayegani and expressed regret over congratulating Ahmadinejad and said he was tricked into doing so by the government.
Other reports indicate that some of the opposition clerics want to invite Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani from Iraq, to come to Iran and assess the situation. This proposal has been welcomed by most of the clerics and will be acted upon soon.
11. According to government-owned websites, Mohammad Ali Abtahi, in a telephone conversation from prison with Karroubi complained about being depicted as a traitor by Karroubi’s newspaper. This could not be confirmed through reformist or independent news services.
12. The Reformist Women’s Association released a statement decrying the treatment of prisoners and the government’s lack of action against perpetrators of violence against protesters.
13. 300 professionals, managers and laborers – who have worked in the past with Shapur Kazemi, the detained brother of Zahra Rahnavard – sent a letter to Sadegh Larijani asking for his immediate release.
Government / International
14. In a meeting with officials from the government, in the presence of Ahamdinejad, Khamenei praised Ahamdinejad as an ‘energetic’ and ‘tireless’ individual and said that he prayed for him and some other people from the government frequently.
15. According to reports, the official in-charge of Kahrizak Detention Facility who had been arrested and released has been rearrested by the order of Judiciary Chief Sadegh Larijani. According to reports, he had been released after spending only a few hours in detention, after pressure by some high-ranking officials in the government.
16. Judiciary Chief Sadegh Larijani today said that what had happened in the detention centers had inflicted a huge blow on the standing of the regime. He said that the Judiciary would pursue these violations carefully and vigorously.
He also said that some had tried to call the elections fraudulent and attempted to stray outside ‘the circle of legality’. He said that law-breaking had become rampant and it had been observed in the aftermath of the elections how such actions had inflicted a great cost on the Islamic regime. He said that these violators shouldn’t think that they’re not being watched and the Judiciary should pursue the perpetrators of any such law-breaking legally.
17. The commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Navy, Rear Admiral Morteza Saffari, said that Iran’s enemies had shifted to a strategy of waging “soft war” against the country. He said that a “media war” had been launched against Iran and efforts were being made to stir up “civil disobedience” in the country, which were parts of the enemy’s soft war against Iran. “The US strategy to confront the Islamic Republic of Iran is based on soft measures,” but the US was also continuing its threats to launch a military attack, he noted.
18. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez told the French newspaper Le Figaro on Wednesday, that Ahmadinejad was an ally and a friend and they had agreed to transfer nuclear technology to Venezuela during his visit to Tehran last week.
19. Iran presented their new package of proposals to the group of 5+1 nations. The package was presented on Wednesday by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki to the ambassadors of China, France, Germany, Russia and Switzerland – on behalf of the US – and the British charge d’affaires in Tehran. No details have emerged of what the proposals in the package were.
20. Reports have emerged, that the IRGC may be implicated in the events that occurred on 9/11, including providing terrorist organizations with money, logistics and even a direct involvement by Iran in the events of 9/11. The reports so far are sketchy and caution must be exercised until more information is made available.
Arrested / Released / Killed / Torture
21. Mohammad Ozlati-Moqaddam, a former IRGC commander and head of the veteran’s faction of Mir Hossein Mousavi’s campaign, was arrested at his home. Ozlati-Moqaddam, who formerly served in the IRGC political bureau alongside Hossein Shariatmadari and Hossein Safar-Harandi, was arrested on Tuesday. Officers went to his residence and arrested him after searching his home.
22. Partially confirmed reports indicate that Alireza Beheshti has been badly beaten after a heated altercation with one of his captors. The reports suggest that his skull was broken and he was hospitalized. There, he was punched again by another of his captors, injuring his face. After receiving treatment he was taken to an undisclosed location.
23. Sayed Ali Akbar Kheradnejad, a recently freed detainee, spoke of the horrors of detention with an Iranian human rights organization. According to Kheradnejad, who was taking part in a protest in Tehran’s Waliasr Square two months ago, security forces forced pepper spray in his eyes, beat him with a baton and then arrested him. He was repeatedly locked away with other prisoners and left to starve for days or given food that was meager and unhealthy. They were beaten repeatedly, blindfolded, interrogated and finally, kept in overcrowded cells. He added that some people had been so brutally tortured, he had heard, even some of the men who had taken part in the torture were opposed to it being so brutal.
24. Partially confirmed reports suggest that Sadegh Noroozi – a reformist politician – was released today.
25. Yesterday, we reported that 15 journalists had been summoned to the Ministry of Intelligence and interrogated about a letter a group of journalists had written to the Judiciary Chief. New reports suggest that agents of the ministry told the journalists that if their names were signed under any letters or statements in the future, they would be arrested. The journalists were given 3 options; deny their signatures, have their case sent to court or work for the Ministry of Intelligence. Reportedly, the journalists declined to accept any of the offers.
26. Isa Saharkhiz – a detained Iranian journalist – has told his family that technology sold to the government by Nokia was directly responsible for his arrest. His son Mehdi Saharkhiz has expressed the willingness to sue Nokia and is in touch with legal counsel over the issue.
27. New reports indicate that the trial of the violators of Kahrizak Detention Facility will not be held in public.
Miscellaneous
28. Greens at the Venice International Film Festival: http://bit.ly/Ucrqa
29. “Death to Khamenei”: http://i32.tinypic.com/5zfa
30. Greenings in Qom: http://www.mowjcamp.com/article/id/27711
31. A beautiful website designed to commemorate Neda and her friends: http://neverforget.us/
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