Iran: The Green Brief #32 (July 18) Latest news from Iran

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The Green Brief #32 (July 18)

http://iran.whyweprotest.net/green-brief/16064-green-brief-32-july-18-a.html

Josh Shahryar - twitter.com/iran_translator

Protests / Unrest

1. An event called the “Global Day of Action” is being organized for human rights in Iran by activists throughout the world. This event will take place on July 25th all across the world- in at least 50 cities. Protesters will demand the freedom of all Iranians apprehended, as well as asking the Iranian Government to stop the repression of the Iranian populace. More about this here: http://united4iran.org/

2. New reports emerging from yesterday’s protests, confirm the burning of several Russian flags around Iran – a clear sign of their outrage for Russia’s continued support for the Iranian Regime.

3. Youngsters in Iran have taken up a new course of action to show their discontent. Every night, they form small groups and walk around small streets and alleys, chanting slogans against the regime and in support of Mir Hossein Mousavi.


Opposition

4. Etemaade Melli Newspaper reported that the Minister of Information, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejaie, held a meeting with Sayed Mohammad Khatami. It is important to note that Ejaie is widely touted as the “Intelligence Chief” of Iran. It is not clear what was discussed in the meeting at this point.

5. In a statement released today, Sayed Mohammad Khatami said that he was unable to join Friday Prayer’s because he “was in Qom holding meetings with prominent clerics.” From the onset of the post-election turmoil, several leaders of the opposition have gone to Qom and held meetings with Ayatollahs. Many Ayatollahs have so far pledged their support for the cause of the protesters.

6. In an interview with ILNA today, Emad Afroogh – a conservative Iranian politician and former member of the Iranian Parliament – has criticized the government’s media censorship tactics. He supports Rafsanjani’s speech and said that Rafsanjani’s words pointed out necessary steps that need to be taken in order to restore calm in Iran. He said that, “Iran wasn’t China and that the government needn’t worry about a velvet revolution.” He asked the government to prosecute any media outlets that have lied about people’s demands and their activities in the post-election turmoil.

7. Shirin Ebadi – Nobel Peace Prize winner and human rights activist - released a statement today stating, “If the government doesn’t change its mind and act rationally, protests will continue.” Ebadi also urged the County of LA yesterday to not grant a business contract to Siemens because of their involvement in Iran’s censorship.


Government / International

8. Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi – a member of the Guardian Council – has strongly criticized Rafsanjani’s Friday Sermon. He said that, “A government’s legitimacy doesn’t come from people, but by God’s support.” He claimed that Rafsanjani had “no right” to ask for the release of detainees. He pointed out that Prophet Mohammed had also ordered the destruction of mosques built by Monafiqeen (People who claimed to be Muslim so they could create rifts between the Islamic communities).

(This is a correction. There was an error in reporting as we reported that Mesbah Yazdi had released those statements while it was Mohammad Yazdi. Apologies)

9. Many hard-liners - including Ahmad Khatami as well as Keyhan Daily Newspaper (which is considered to be the voice of Khamenei) - have criticized the appointment of Rahim Mashaie as Vice President of Iran. They have requested Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to review his decision because Mashaie was “not fit” for the position. Mashaie has been blasted by hard-liners in the past for saying, “The people of Iran were friends of the people of Israel.”

10. Reports indicate that Iran’s government has plans for systematically removing all “pro-Mousavi” and “anti-Ahmadinejad” professors from Iranian Universities. The first victims of this policy - Dr. Fatimeh Rakeie and Dr. Abdollah Naseri of Tehran’s Az-Zahra University - have been forced to resign their positions. Many faculty members of Az-Zahra had joined Mousavi’s movement recently. The “plan” also encompasses government employees from various ministries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has created a list of 200 names that have to be ‘purged’ from within the ministry.

11. The Guardian Council has published a detailed report about the election and the post-election events that transpired. The report asserts the legitimacy and accuracy of the elections, and notes that all complaints filed against the election were investigated and found to be baseless. The detailed report has been published by Parleman News which you can find here: پارلمان نیوز : گزارش تفصیلی شورای نگهبان پیرامون دهمین دوره انتخابات ریاست جمهوری منشر شد


Arrested / Released / Killed

12. Dr. Hasan Shiekhabadi, a political activist and journalist, was arrested yesterday from Mahabad in West Azerbaijan Province. Hossein Mousavi (Not to be confused with Mir Hossein Mousavi) and other members of the Participation Front were arrested right before Friday Prayer’s. Three of the members were released, but Hossein Mousavi and many others are still in custody.

13. It has now been confirmed that another detained protester, 18 year old Muhammad Kamrani, has died after being severely tortured by the regime’s security forces. According to sources, Kamrani died on Thursday after being in detention for over a week. Evidently, he was tortured so badly that the “gesture” of transferring him to a hospital proved futile. Reports indicate that even though Kamrani never regained consciousness after his transfer, he was still kept bound in his hospital bed.

14. In an interview published by Javan Daily, the Minister of Information has stated that many people responsible for the operation and maintenance of Ayandeh and Jomhooriyat Websites have been arrested. He alleged that, “These people were working to harm the Islamic Republic and that the government would clamp down on ALL people who are involved in attempts at creating tensions within Iran.”

15. Amnesty International has released a statement calling for the immediate release of Iranian feminist, lawyer, and journalist Shadi Sadr, who was arrested yesterday. Security forces also raided her home and confiscated her computer, documents and many of her personal belongings.


Miscellaneous

16. Tehran Municipality Council has announced that it will be cleaning Azadi Tower. An icon in the city built 38 years ago, Azadi Tower is located in Azadi Square - the scene of many of the protests. According to reports, orders to wash the tower are due to the overwhelming display of anti-government and pro-reform slogans written all over the white tower.

17. Nokia sales are really taking a hit in Tehran as members of the Green Movement have started an active campaign to rid the country of the company’s cell phones. According to sources, members have organized a campaign to stop buying new Nokia cell phones and discard those already in use. Similar campaigns are taking place around the world by other groups of concerned individuals. Reports from yesterday indicate that the County of Los Angeles might not grant Siemens -another company implicated along with Nokia in selling surveillance equipment to the Iranian Government - a business contract because of anger over its role in the regime’s ability to track down dissenters.

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