Iran News Update - October 07, 2009

Hello, as the author of this blog, I hope I am good job of helping to collect news from various sources, and spreading it around. I know I'm nowhere near the big guys, but I still want to and enjoy contributing my support for the brave people in Iran fighting for their freedom as well as trying to raise awareness for those that do not know what is going on.

If you have any questions, or critique for my blog you're very welcome to share your advice! I will be happy to hear what you think might improve this blog, as well as any other thoughts you might have! :)

Newslinks

Behnood Shjaei and Safar Angooti to be executed 11 and 21 of October
Please visit the link and contact the people listed to raise awareness of this unjust sentence!

Urgent Alert : Man Charged in State Security case at Risk of Execution

Iran sees U.S. role in researcher's disappearance

A Poly-technique university student was shot by the security forces (Farsi) | مرگ یک دانشجوی پلی تکنیک به ضرب گلوله ماموران انتظامی

Saudi king aiming to split Syria-Iran alliance

Iran says British policies not helpful to bilateral ties expansion

Dissident’s Tale of Epic Escape From Iran’s Vise

Iran sentences seven to death for cleric’s assassination

Police: No rape incident in Kahrizak (Farsi) | پلیس: در کهریزک تجاوزی روی نداده است

Revolutionary Guards buy 51% stake in Iran's telecommunications company

Iran's Police Chief Denies Allegations of Prisoner Rapes

Iraq releases Iranian dissidents

Rafsanjani continues to miss Fridays' prayers (Farsi) | ادامه غیبت آیت الله هاشمی رفسنجانی در نماز جمعه تهران

Chávez jokes about helping Iran build nuclear bomb

U.S. Presses Tehran to Free Two Detainees

Members of Teachers Association are Detained

Confusion among Officials and the Basij

From Tweets

- Workers at Pars Wagon company in Arak have gone on a hunger strike.

- The plant's deputy union leader Mohammad Reza Madahi: The workers haven't been paid in 75 days.

- This is the 9th time in the past 6 months that Pars Wagon workers have gone on strike.

From Misc. Sources
(I did not write these, they are copy/pasted from other sources.)

- In his most recent video broadcast, Mohsen Sazgara underscored a few points:
Workers of a factory in south of Iran are on strike for their wages. They have asked the greens for their support.

We are receiving precious information from the cleared out personnel of the ministry of information after the coup d'etat of information especially regarding the lessening number of oppressive members.
As a signal one can point to appointment of the militia 'baseej' which is a volunteer group to the revolutionary guards as a part of the army.
The government is worried about the 4th November governmental demonstration (anniversary of Iran's hostage crisis) to be hijacked by the green movement similar to Quds day demonstration and all the speeches repeating the point that everything is back to normal is actually saying that it is not.

- Ali Reza Beheshti Shirazi, one of Mir Hossein Mousavi supporters, responded to comments made by the commander of the Corps. He said that it is wrong to accuse 2 million people of being families of Savak (Shah secret service) and saying such a thing shows that the commander can't admit his mistakes. He then criticized the commander's engagement in propagating lies and slander against protesters and reformist leaders. He finished his talk by saying that it is still not too late and that this crisis can still be saved.

- In a letter to MohammadJavad Larijani and in response to his accusations of Khomeini's grandson to support the opposition, manager of Khomeini's publications has warned against a cultural and moral coup d'etat. Mohammad Ali Ansari has written in his letter that "Do you ever think that the protests might be to clear out the obscurities about the elections?" He has also said that "Those who believe that reality of Holocaust should be questioned and studied, why don't they allow a simple matter such as Iran's elections to be analyzed and studied?".

- Prior to presentation of a report on Kahrizak prison, Saeed Mortazavi (previous persecutor of Tehran and Ahmadreza Radan, commander of police force have reacted to it and refused to accept the accusations indicated in it in advance.

- Mr. Pezeshkian demanded investigations into the effect of satellite jumbling signals on human health. Recently, the government has increased its interference in satellite reception. Mr. Pezeshkian criticizes this because it is done with "no consideration of the health of the citizens".

- Hassan Rowhani, former deputy of Supreme National Security Council made statements during a meeting on the "Iranian national identity". He said it is an error to accuse people of anti-Islamic and anti-revolution behavior. During the past 30 years, there has been much effort to erase Iranian identity and rationalism. A political science professor in Iran responded to these comments by saying that these reconciliatory comments come too late when the crisis in Iranian society has already deepened.

- The One Million Signatures Campaign was presented on Tuesday with the Anna Politkovskaya award for courage, and the "voice of freedom" award from Die Quadriga Institute in Germany. This award is given to this group of women because are risking imprisonment to collect one million signatures on a petition demanding greater women's rights in Iran.

- Although after Saeed Hajjarian was released, the pro-government media announced that 20 more political prisoners would be also freed shortly, no famous imprisoned political activist or journalist has been freed in the last few days. On the contrary, many of them who were to be released on bail were prevented from being freed. The Tehran prosecutor, has ordered their incarceration to be continued, although it had been ruled by the judge that they should be released. This is a strange act, with no legal precedent. “Tehran’s prosecutor is our boss and we follow his orders” said the prosecutor of this case, addressing the complaints posed by the families of these prisoners.

- 12 members of Iran’s Teachers Union, who had been arrested earlier during one of their meetings in the house of the union leader, were freed after one day. They had convened in Ali Akbar Baghani’s house to commemorate the International Day of Teachers and were arrested by Iranian Intelligence officers.

Videos






Not Green-related, I know, but I just thought this was pretty cool.