Sunday, June 27, 2010

Roshan Muhammed Salih, is This not Attack on Property?

Imagine if you and your family were inside your home and this mob turned up outside your house, painted graffiti all over your front door and started kicking down your front door as you see in the video. You cannot even call the police, for this mob is above the law and above the police. This mob is the Supreme Leader's hired thugs. They have one mission only, to silence any dissent and to terrorise the population.



The front door they have sprayed with graffiti and are trying to kick down, is not any front door either. It belongs to Grand Ayatollah Saneii, a renowned Shiite theologian and Islamic philosopher.

I remember turning up outside Press TV's Westgate House in Hanger lane shortly after the post-election protests had begun. Mohammad Roshan Muhammed Salih and a former Iranian wrestler came out to greet me in Press TV's car park. It was just after Roshan Muhammed Salih had written his piece for Guardian's Comment is Free in which he had commented on the Islamic Republic, calling it 'a fundamentally decent government run by a fundamentally decent man'!

When Roshan Muhammad Salih and I argued about the brutal crackdown on protesters, he kept justifying the beating and killing of the innocent protesters by saying 'It was to protect public property'!

Well here you are Press TV's News Editor, Roshan Muhammed Salih, watch the above footage. Is this not an attack on public property? Why is this mob not being chased away and arrested by the Law Enforcement Forces? Will you dare to show this on Press TV, so your viewers will see the hired mob of the 'fundamentally decent man' in action?

Osanloo's Daughter-in-law Looses her Two Month Old Baby after her Torture Ordeal

Savages and scums! In un-Islamic England, if a pregnant woman is standing up in the train, there is immediately several male passengers who would rightly be willing to give up their seats for her. However, in the Islamic Republic of Iran, a pregnant woman is kidnapped by plain clothes agents at a busy metro station, handcuffed and blindfolded, taken to an unknown secret place and tortured! Words cannot describe the brutality of these Neanderthals running Iran at the moment.

Zoya Osanloo is the daughter-in-law of Mansour Osanloo, Iran's Bus Drivers Union Leader. She is not a political activist and is not in any way connected with Mansour Osanloo's union activities. She is simply married to Osanloo's son and works as an engineer. Last Wednesday, on her way to work, she was accosted by three plain clothes Iranian intelligence agents at a Metro station. She was blindfolded and handcuffed and taken to a secret detention centre. Mansour Osanloo, who is serving a five year sentence because of his union activities is due to be released at the end of this year. Zoya was punched in the face and her head was smashed into a wall several times during her interrogation ordeal. They kept telling Zoya that she should persuade Mansour Osanloo to leave the country once he is released. According to Osanloo's wife, Parvaneh, who talked about her daughter-in-law's ordeal with Fereshteh Ghazi from Roozonline, Zoya suffered broken teeth and nose bleed and is still in a shock. Most tragically however, Zoya lost her two month old baby.

Friday, June 25, 2010

The People United Will Make the Morality Police Flee the Scene

This is a great footage from the city of Rasht, North of Iran. It was taken on Thursday 24th June. A morality police tries to penalise a young girl for her observance of the dress code and take her to the station, but the girl and her mother resist. As the crowds swell in numbers, they too join the resistance against the morality police. The result, the police has to flee the scene.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

'We Will Bombard the Majlis' - Pro-Ahmadinejad Hired Thugs

Iran's fee paying Azad universities have become a profitable entity and as with other profitable enterprises, the commanding officers of the Revolutionary Guards have had their eyes on seizing control of the Azad university assets even before last year's elections began. The Revolutionary Guards want the vast assets of the Azad university to be under Ahmadinejad government's control and ownership,and for Ahmadinjead to appoint the dean and the trustees of the Azad university, but even the present hardline controlled parliament voted against this, and that was enough to enrage the puppet masters to bring out their usual hired thugs in force outside the Majlis. The thugs carried placards which condemned the Majlis and its selected filtered members for having dared to put that matter to vote, saying 'We will bombard the Majlis'!!

Bombarding the parliament of course evokes bitter historical memories of how the despot Qajar King, Mohammad Ali Shah ordered the Russian leader of the Persian Cossack Brigade, Colonel Vladimir Liakhov to bomb the Majlis and execute several leaders of the constitutional revolution back in 1908.

Is it not strange that the permit request for a peaceful silent demonstration to mark the anniversary of the election fraud last week was denied by the Interior Minster (headed by Revolutionary Guard, General Mustafa Najjar) and yet a permit was happily approved for these thugs who threatened to bomb the parliament and physically attack the Majlis members?

I just hope if they do decide to bomb the parliament, someone will tell these illiterate thugs which building is the parliament and they don't destroy the wrong building through their sheer illiterate ignorance.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

The Day Neda Was Killed

This day last year, was a day that will never be forgotten by me and many other people across the world. I was monitoring what was happening in Iran and Neda's clip came up. As I was watching the clip, I remember shouting out loud 'no, no, please don't let her die'. I was hoping that the people who were attending her and the person who was putting pressure on her wound, to stop the bleeding, would manage to save her. Once I saw the blood gushing out from Neda's mouth all over her face, my loud screams of 'No, no,no' scared others in the house. Her final stare haunted me, as if asking me to do something.

I went downstairs and watched the BBC news, unbelievably the BBC said 'There have been SOME reports of shootings in Tehran'. What?? 'Some reports of shootings' in Tehran? People are being killed and they are simply guessing that there may have been 'some shooting'? Straight away I was on the phone to BBC having a go at them, 'how many Iranians must be killed before you say something?' then I rang as many people as I could and asked them to complain to the BBC too. By the evening that day, some news agencies had reported Neda's murder and I was at Aljazeera English studios, fuming and thinking that once again the murder of innocent sons and daughters of Iran will go unnoticed by the international community. I was wrong however, Neda's murder could not be suppressed by the mass media. This time there was no excuse for them. Neda's murder had damaged the Islamic Republic in the eyes of the world beyond all repair. Not even their most prolific apologists or their sophisticated lobby groups or their propaganda TV stations could salvage the regime from this. The recording of the last moments of Neda's life, turned her into a symbol of freedom. Neda was born again forever.

Polona and Kahina's Protest in China

Polona Florijančič is a female Slovenian student studying Human Rights Law at Brunel university in London. Polona is petite and so delicate that I always have to remind myself not to embrace her too hard. Don't let her size fool you though, for she has a heart of a lion when it comes to standing up to tyrants. Polona has been an active and passionate supporter of the Green Movement in Iran right from the beginning. She is a familiar face to Iranians in London and can be seen at most major events in support of the Green Movement.

Polona was on a study trip to China with her university last week and last Saturday coincided with the anniversary of the election frauds in Iran, she decided to hold a protest outside the Iranian embassy in Beijing with her Swedish friend and fellow student, Kahina Bakhti. Ahmadinejad was also in China at the time, so holding the protest was even more significant.

Together they simply held a placard that said in English 'Free Iran, Say NO to Theocracy'. To the intolerant embassy goons even this was too much. They could not believe at first that even in Beijing people were protesting against them. After their initial shock was over, several Iranian looking agents appeared from nowhere as well as from inside the embassy to stop Polona and Kahina. The embassy goons demanded the Chinese police to arrest the protesters. One of them kept telling the Chinese police 'They are not even Iranians, They are not even Iranians' as if non-Iranians don't have the right to protest against human rights abuses in Iran. He kept staring at Polona with a cold blooded killer look to intimidate her.

Polona and Kahina resisted as long as they could until two Chinese police cars took them away. As little Polona sat in the police car she shouted at the embassy goon with the killer look stare, 'You can torture your own people but you can't touch me'.

It must have been at this point when I got this text message:
'I've been taken to the police station. I can't tell my mom. I've informed my teacher but he hasn't replied. If you don't hear from me in a couple of hours please inform my embassy in UK that we are in a police station near the Iranian embassy'

As it was Saturday, the Slovenian embassy was closed. I didn't know what to do other than let everyone know including her friends on Facebook. I replied to her with this text:
'To those who are holding Polona. Diplomatic representatives as well as the press have been informed. If she is in any way harmed you will be responsible and face severe consequences'
I thought her captors would read that but only Polona read it after she was released when her phone was returned to her :)

Polona and Kahina were each interrogated by two Chinese interrogators who spoke English but knew nothing about Iran.

- Why are you doing this?
- What is Theocracy?
- What is an Ayatollah?

At times the interrogators would warm up to them when they listened to what had happened in Iran in the last year. 'You are right, Theocracy is no good'.

The interrogations and the excessive amount of paper work for their release took all night. 'You have made my life like hell tonight with all this paperwork' one of them told Polona, but by the morning, not having had any food all night, the Chinese police were nice enough to buy them KFC. Kahina cheekily whispered to Polona, 'Do you think we could have an ice cream too?':)

Polona and Kahina returned to London, Heathrow on Thursday to a hero's welcome by the supporters of the Green Movement. 'They are not Iranians' but we are now one big global family who will push for democracy and human rights in Iran wherever we are, and we will look after everyone of this extended family, whether they are Iranians or not!

Polona and Kahina's Return to London:




'They are not even Iranians, They are not even Iranians'




Kahina's Arrest:


Thursday, June 17, 2010

1953 Coup and the Screening of For Neda

I was at the screening of the documentary, For Neda, made by Anthony Thomas for HBO. The documentary was powerful and tear jerking as expected but I don't want to write about the documentary here. You can google and read commentaries and even watch the documentary yourself. What amazed me however was a question that was asked during the Q&A from Anthony Thomas and the brave Saeed Kamali Dehghan, who obtained much of the film footage from Iran.

Once again the 1953 coup was brought up! How many times have I said you can not have a meeting in this country about Iran without someone wanting to bring up the 1953 coup? Well last night was no exception again.

An apologetic woman sitting in the front, mentioned the 1953 coup and Britain's role in the overthrow of Mossadegh almost as a justification of why the regime was accusing the BBC of being involved in Neda's murder :)

As usual these know it alls forget one crucial fact. The clergy led by Ayatollah Kashani were the ones who let the thugs and hoodlums, who were in their pockets, lose on the streets to help the coup succeed. Followers of Ayatollah Kashani then hijacked power after the 1979 revolution. In other words those in power now and those who are pulling the strings of the thugs and hoodlums committing crimes on the streets today are the very ones who corroborated in the 1953 coup. The vast majority of the people in Iran, including the real victims of the 1953 coup, have got over it, so its time the apologetic British know it alls get over it too and stop making silly justifications for the wrongs of the rulers in Iran today.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

'Expect Ahmadinejad for a Third Term'

Mohammad-Reza Jalayipour is from a revolutionary family. His father was one of the first recruits in the revolutionary guards after it was formed in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Shah and became the governor of Naghadeh in Iranian Kurdistan. Two of his uncles were martyred in defending Iran against Saddam Hussein's forces, Another one of his uncles was assassinated by the 'counter-revolutionary' groups in the eighties. Mohammad Reza Jalayipour has a degree from Tehran university and a Masters degree from London School of Economics.

During the last presidential elections, Jalayipour was an effective organiser of Moussavi's election campaign. That was enough to vilify him in the eyes of Ahmadinejad's administration despite his revolutionary background. Jalayipour was arrested after the elections in the airport as he tried to board the plane to London, where he planned to continue with his PHD at Oxford university and join his wife. He was released on bail after appearing on the show trials but was arrested again at his father's house yesterday.

'I told them why do you enter my house like this and search everything in this way? Are we thieves and murderers?' His father asked the five heavily built intelligence ministry agents who rummaged through all his belongings including his wife's clothing and underwear.

'They filmed everything in the house except the pictures of my martyred brothers. I asked them why do you not film them? So your puppet masters know what kind of a family you are doing this to. As the five heavily built men left the house, they told me 'Just remember, Ahmadinejad will be the president for a third term' '

Of course according to the Islamic Republic constitution, a president can only run for two consecutive terms only but then again it is not the first time that even the Islamic Republic constitution itself has been violated.

Highlights of What Happened in Iran June 2009 - June 2010



'The atrocities of Kahrizak and the innocent protesters killed throughout June last year will not be forgotten' - Mir Hussein Moussavi

Friday, June 11, 2010

Why I will Join the Protests on 12th June - Andreas Moser

This is my first guest post ever since I started my blog. It is written by Andreas Moser, the German citizen who had to endure a week in Evin prison.


Why I will join the protests on June 12th 

Saturday June 12th will mark the first anniversary of the rigged Iranian elections. The blatant electoral fraud sparked protests throughout Iran which the Iranian regime only managed to crush by remorseless force. The brutality of the crackdown opened the world's eyes not only about the nature of the Iranian government, but also about the dissent and the courage of a large part of the Iranian people. Since then, protests have flared up, been struck down, and flared up again.

For the past 52 weeks, Iranians and non-Iranians have gathered outside Iran's embassies and consulates and other institutions of the Islamic Republic all over the world to protest against this government. They will do so again this Saturday. 
I have been asked by many friends: "What is the point of these protests? What will it achieve?" and I am prone to joining in the disappointment. For on the face of it, we - if I may use this inclusive term for all those who care about freedom, democracy and human rights in Iran - have not achieved anything. Iran is still governed by an autocratic regime which ignores the wishes of its people, oppresses all dissent, stifles free thought and speech, performs executions and demeans the female half of the population. For those who care more about international security or stability than about the domestic situation (although these two issues might be far more correlated than many outside Iran want to believe), the picture is none less grim: Iran continues to sow mischief in the region and has not been brought to a halt in its apparent striving for nuclear weapons.
The disappointment about the obvious lack of any progress is understandable. I share this disappointment. And the time might indeed have come to step up the actions, both for the international community in their handling of Iran, but also for activists and protesters. 

So why will I still join the protests on June 12th despite my disappointment? In the end, for one reason:
In June 2009, I was in Iran myself. I had flown there to witness and join the protests in the streets of Tehran. On June 25th of last year, I was arrested by the Iranian Intelligence Service and taken to Evin prison for what should become the toughest week of my life. On the late evening of June 25th, after having been stripped of my clothes and possessions, being blindfolded and not being told where I am and why I am being kept, being shouted at in a language that I did not understand, I was waiting under guard in the yard of Evin prison for transport to a cell. At that moment, it turned 10 o'clock at night and like every evening, the city of Tehran burst into a loud and vibrant chorus of shouts of "god is great", a slogan which had become the symbol of the resistance. Even being surrounded by guards and still aching from a previous beating by the police, full of fear and uncertainty, I could not suppress a smile as I heard these chants from the rooftops and windows of the surrounding neighbourhoods. I felt that I was not alone. I felt that people like me were not forgotten outside of these darn walls. 

Since then, I know about the value of moral support. It's the very least that each and every one of us can do.
I hope to see you on Saturday!

Andreas Moser

From the Guardian Today: 'There is no God in Islamic Republic of Iran' - Former Revolutionary Guard

A two-month investigation by Guardian Films and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reveals how hundreds of members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard are defecting - in protest at what they see as a 'betrayal' by the Iranian government:


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2010/jun/11/iran-revolutionary-guard-defectors

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Save Money, Shut Down OFCOM

These are austere times and we can not afford to have organisations and agencies that are just a total waste of public money. One such wasteful agency is OFCOM. Time and time again OFCOM has rejected valid complaints against Press TV for political reasons and for fear of sparking a diplomatic confrontation.

Former Press TV employees have told me how in the beginning they were careful and vigilant to abide by OFCOM rules but as OFCOM proved to be useless, Press TV directors got less and less worried to the point until which they explicitly stated 'Not to worry about OFCOM'.

Maziar Bahari's complaint to OFCOM against Press TV is not new nor is most of the footage shown in tonight's Channel4 program:
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/uk/iran+journalistaposs+ofcom+complaint+over+tv+confession/3676242

The complaint is clear, Press TV knew Maziar Bahari was making confessions under duress and yet they still went ahead broadcasting it as a normal interview, clearly acting as a propaganda tool for a repressive regime and  colluding in the torture and detention of a journalist. OFCOM however still hasn't made up its mind, so lets stop wasting money, save schools, NHS and the other vital services and cut down on this waste of space which can't stand up to Press TV.

Irish Garda Assists Mottaki's Thugs to Beat up Protesters

I wonder if this Irish Garda helping Mottaki's thugs beat up an Iranian protester is going to become a new paddy joke depicting the sheer stupidity of this idiot in uniform. I always thought the police should stand up to the criminals and protect the innocent but this paddy here not only does not stand up to Mottaki's thugs using excessive force on the Iranian protesters, he actually joins in with the criminals as the protesters are taken out and punched and kicked down the stairs.



The AP version



And more videos here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/haveIranFree

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Today's Sanctions

When people ask 'do sanctions work?' I always reply, it is as if asking 'do drugs work?' If you have a headache and you take a Viagara tablet, the chances are that it will not help your headache, but at the same time you cannot conclude drugs don't work, you have simply not taken the correct medication for your ailment.

Some of the sanctions against the Islamic Republic have been nothing but a farce. Ban on export of free software like Facebook and Gmail for example. Who was it supposed to target and how could it have been implemented? Are software like Gmail and Facebook exported or simply used on-line?

Then there is the question of how easy is it to get round the sanctions. Again using the example above, all one had to say was they were not a resident of Iran. Bit like the landing forms when you travel to America, one of the questions asked is 'Will you be taking part in any terrorist activities?' I can not imagine who would say 'Yes' to this silly question.

Treatment of Afghan Refugees in Iran

Imagine if Israel treated Palestinians or the flotilla passengers like the way these Afghan refugees are seen to be treated in this footage below.

These poor Afghan refugees are asked to slap themselves on the head and then slap their compatriots in front of them and then repeat loudly 'I will not come to Iran again'! while those ordering the humiliation can be heard creasing up with laughter in the background.

Monday, June 07, 2010

Khomeini's Grandson Beats the Crap Out of the Interior Minister

Hassan Khomeini is the grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini. He is an accomplished wrestler and a martial arts enthusiast. I am told by people who have met him that this guy can really handle himself. On Friday which was the anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini's death, Hassan's speech was constantly interrupted by the pro-Ahmadinejad mob and he was accused of supporting the leaders of the 'sedition', as the regime likes to refer to the Green Movement. Rumours spread that Hassan Khomeini had then got into a fight with the Interior Minister, Mostafa Najjar, yet another revolutionary guard minister in Ahmadinejad's cabinet and that Hassan slapped Najjar a couple of times.

This morning Javanonline, a site affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, confirmed the rumour. Only it seems it was a bit more than a couple of slaps. Javanonline says, Najjar, had to be hospitalised in Chamran hospital as a result of Hassan's blows.

Pro-Ahmadinejad sites true to their Stalinist ways have now abandoned referring to Hassan as Hassan Khomeini and are now calling him Hassan Mostafavi to remove his family connections to Ayatollah Khomeini.

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Supreme Leader's Crocodile Tears for Gazza

As usual, the Supreme Leader in Iran is quick to exploit what happened on the IHH organised flotilla to Gazza for his own power hungry agenda and is already calling for another such event, but as I have always said, if you kill, imprison and rape your own citizens you will not liberate anyone else either. Fortunately not all the Palestinians are fooled by the Supreme Leader's crocodile tears either. Below is a statement I received from Palestinian Human Rights campaigner, Ahlam Akram, regarding the recent executions in Iran:

'As a peace and human rights campaigner of Palestinian origin .. I do not believe that the existing regime in Iran is a representative of the Iranian aspiration to play a positive role for global peace and harmony . The inflammatory language the regime uses, does not reflect the kindness and the wonderful ability of Iranians to express their views and reach others in peaceful ways to resolve any conflict.
Worst are the executions the regime is committing against his own citizens without proper trials for demanding their rights of freedom of expression.
Such a regime that is not using the right path to protect his peoples interest and rights in the global village, will not be able to help Palestinians or get international support to their rightful non violence struggle to end the occupation and put an end to the conflict ..

Ahlam AKram
'

Meanwhile the flotilla news overshadowed Iranian FM Mottaki's trip to the Europen parliament. Most Iranian opposition outside Iran seemed to have forgotten about Mottaki's trip and were concentrating on the Gazza related news!