Flowers and Barbed Wire

Until the post-election protests, Mohamad Nourizad was a supporter of the Supreme Leader and opposed the reformists in Iran. The brutal crackdown of protesters and widespread arrests that followed however, compelled Nourizad to write open critical letters to the Supreme Leader, which resulted in Nourizad himself ending up in jail, despite his impeccable revolutionary credentials and former loyalty to the revolution as a journalist and a film maker.

Prison only served to open Nourizad's eyes even further at the sheer scale of the tyranny and the crimes carried out against Iran's best sons and daughters. During his initial arrest, when he was given the rare chance of contacting his family, he told them 'It is not important how long I remain in prison, what is important is whether I leave this place with my head held high or not?' Determined to make up for his past support of a tyrannical state, Nourizad has indeed held his head high. Not only he has resisted all the pressures against himself, defiantly he has been describing what goes on inside Iran's prisons and has told the outside world the tales of Iran's individual prisoners and their epic resistance. In a series of letters, Flowers and Barbed Wire, Nourizad tells the outside world the injustices of Iran's 'flowers' incarcerated by a corrupt dictatorship hell bent on keeping the reigns of power at whatever cost and by whatever means.

In his latest letter, Nourizad describes the treatment of student leader and activist, Abdullah Momeni, sentenced to 9 years imprisonment.

'Dear God, our security men have exonerated the Shah's SAVAK in what they have done to Abdollah Momeni. They have insulted his mother, a mother of a war martyr, with unmentionable profanities to make him recant what they wanted him to say but he had not done. God where were you when Abdollah repeatedly lost consciousness as he was beaten up time and time again by his interrogators and his honour desecrated by the vulgarities they were hurling against his family?

They pushed Abdollah's head into the toilet and threatened to rape him with a stick and told him 'Not even the best of carpenters will be able to pull this stick out of you' in order to humiliate him.

Dear Lord, Abdollah is an educated Muslim, he is devoted to the glory of his country and averse to injustice and tyranny. He is a prisoner of those who tell him 'Why do you object to our wrong doings? Why do you expose our corruption? Why do you want to end our monopolies? What is it to you what the president and his advisors do? Why do you interfere in the Revolutionary Guards' stranglehold on the economy? Why do you criticise the clergy who dabble in everything but remain unaccountable to anyone? What is to you that we are making people despise Islam under the name of Islam? Why have you said the night will be over? You think there is a dawn coming?'

Nourizad finishes by raising the spirit of all those who carry on the struggle for freedom in Iran:

'To you the unknown but true children of Iran, I say, be aware and be certain that the dawn is still breathing and is alive, just like you are and just like freedom is. Hail freedom, hail the good God'

IRI Foreign Minister Praises Fraudster Kordan

In any other normal country it would have been a huge scandal. For a cabinet minister to have faked and forged an Oxford PHD in such an obvious vulgar way, it would have meant all sorts of grave consequences including the entire cabinet resigning. In the Islamic Republic of Iran and in an administration led by Ahamdinejad, such forgeries seem to be normal and even praiseworthy however. Blatant cheating, forgery and lying seem to be recommendable attributes that enable you to climb up the promotion ladder in Ahamdinejad's administration.

On the anniversary of Kordan's death, Manouchehr Mottaki, Iran's Foreign Minister not only did not try to distance himself from this former interior minister falsifier but he praised him by saying 'whether as a governor or as the interior minister, Kordan was a resolute man with stamina and strength'!

Motaki continued 'the late Kordan, was totally absorbed, in the spring of Velayat [obedience to the Supreme Leader] and in the shadow of Velayat..' Nothing to argue with Mottaki on that point.

'I salute Kordan's spirit and I ask the Almighty to keep us steadfast in our common path of progress and justice, so that we can serve this great nation.' Mottaki ended his praise for the deceased fraudster.

It was also revealed that Kordan had a rape conviction before the 1979 revolution.

May the Almighty have mercy for us all.

So Which One is the Liar??

Sept 19, 2010:

AMANPOUR: OK. I’d like your opinion on stoning.
AHMADINEJAD: first, what I want to say is that Miss Mohammadi was never sentenced to stoning. This was news that was produced and incorrect

Not the first time Ahmadinejad's statement is contradicted by the judiciary officials in Iran but here is the latest one:

Hojat-ol-Islam Malek Ezhdar Sharifi, Chief of East Azerbaijan Judiciary, quoted in pro-Ahmadinejad Farsnews yesterday:

'The correct news about this person [Sakineh] is that she has been condemned to stoning for betraying her husband'.

One of the two must be lying! and some slap heads still bother to analyse statistics to see if cheating took place in Iran's presidential elections or not!

Symbols of Freedom Who Will Inspire Many More

'It is not those who inflict the most but those who can suffer the most who will prevail'. The very first time I heard this quote, it struck a chord with me. I always admired those who against all odds stuck to their beliefs no matter what the consequences, people whose strength was not in inflicting damage onto others but in their courage and resilience to tolerate the pain and the suffering meted out against them by the oppressors. Perhaps because such tolerance of pain and suffering was so remote to my own abilities. 

Last Saturday, the world cheered the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, a woman who has had the courage to share the sufferings of her people in Burma, and today was the trial of Nasrin Sotoudeh, an Iranian human rights lawyer who has said 'If I can not save my clients, I might as well die with them'.

The strength of these women in facing the consequences against them is beyond words. They may become the very manifestations of the opening quote in this post, they may prevail in their life time, but they will definitely, without a shadow of doubt, inspire thousands more to seek freedom and justice and hence prevail at the end.

Build Bridges for Lebanon, Let our People Lose their Fingers

So where is Iran's billions of petro Dollars gone to? What happened to all the promises in the beginning of the revolution? The free housing, free telephones, free electricity, free water etc. we were promised? After thirty years of Islamic revolution, it is hard to write down even a short list of 'What the Iranian people have gained from the 1979 revolution?'. One thing is for sure though, some in Lebanon have gained massive benefits from Iran's billions of petro Dollars. Only on Thursday, the Iranian Reconstruction HQ announced it will rebuild nine bridges that were destroyed in Lebanon by the Israelis, and this is just pocket money spending compared to what the Iranian regime has spent in Lebanon alone.

There is no such chance of building a bridge for the Iranian villagers living in Gavdaneh however. Their own water is not drinkable, to bring drinking water to their homes they have to go to their nearest villages. To do this they have to cross a river and the only way they can cross is via this makeshift tele-cabin which they operate manually by pulling on the steel wire rope above them. Almost all the villagers at some point have lost a finger in the accidents that have resulted from this perilous crossing.

In the report that was published on the Iranian website, one of the villagers says 'we have sent our children along with our delegations asking for a bridge, thinking the officials will be moved by seeing their missing fingers but to no avail'

It seems the authorities in Iran are happy to see Iranians lose their fingers so that the Lebanese can wave at Ahmadinejad with their fiver fingers.

Thank You Sheikh Nassrollah

So there we go! Now we know exactly what is going on in Iran and who is ruling in Iran. Thank you Sheikh Nassrollah for stating the obvious. Our country is under occupation by foreign usurpers who are threatening our identity, heritage and culture. But don't be too happy Sheikh Nassrollah, Iran has dealt with worse usurpers than you and turned them into Iranians. You too will not be successful. Iran will never die.




And what do you expect from this Lebanese man when on Iran's state TV, some complete idiot talks a lot of nonsense and then finishes it by saying Arabic is the only spoken language in heaven and only Persian will be spoken in hell and the host is delighted and says 'Oh good, I know Arabic'

Islamic Republic Police Shoving Arrested Youth in the Car Trunk

Here is a footage I have just received demonstrating how the intimidation of the people of Iran by its law enforcement forces continues. Arrested youth are shoved in the trunk of the car, two in each car, despite their desperate pleas:



But the yearning for democracy still continues despite all the intimidations.

Nine Years Prison and Ten Years Ban for Iran's Human Rights Lawyer

Iran's judiciary was described as the 'worst judiciary in the world' by its previous head, Ayatollah Shahroudi, when he was the head of the judiciary himself. Yet, perhaps even he did not foresee that the 'worst judiciary' in the world can get even worse.

On Saturday, 30 October, Branch 15 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court sentenced prominent lawyer Mohammad Seifzadeh to nine years in prison and a ten year ban from practicing law. Seifzadeh is charged with the usual “acting against national security” by “establishing the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC).” Abdolfattah Soltani and Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, two other co-founders  of DHRC are also under prosecution for similar charges. To which Seifzadeh commented, "it seems the gentlemen have a problem with human rights and consider it a crime".

Nasrin Sotoudeh, another lawyer affiliated with DHRC, has been in detention since 4 September 2010, and held in solitary confinement. Neither her husband nor her children have been allowed to see her since. The only contact she has had with her husband and children is a three second phone call which was cut short, when she said 'I have been threatened'.

Mohammad Oliyaiefard, another lawyer, is serving a one year sentence for having interviewed with the VOA Persian regarding the case of one of his clients, a minor who was executed.

Iran's first post-revolution general prosecutor, Mehdi Hadavi, wrote an open letter yesterday to the Islamic Republic's Intelligence Minister, after his son and grandson were both arrested, which said:
- No state can be run in secrecy and stealth. Official institutions must not behave like pirates and armed robbers.

- The judges in Iran these days execute the orders given to them by the intelligence ministry.

- By your orders, people have even been arrested for taking part in prayers. Do you not fear teh Almighty?

Hadavi, was the Qom prosecutor in 1963, and was dismissed when he refused to sign Ayatollah Khomeini's sentence to exile. After the revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini rewarded him by appointing him as the country's general prosecutor. Hadavi, however resigned after two and a half months, saying he wanted to be accountable on the judgement day.

Iranian Girl Resists Arrest by Morality Police in Oroumiyeh

Footage of an Iranian girl who resists arrest by the morality police in Oroumiyeh, North West Iran. She was being harassed by the morality police for showing her ankles. At the end of the footage she is heard shouting 'You have destroyed our country':

Poll Shows Moussavi Had 59% of the Votes in Qom

As the Supreme Leader's trip to Qom is coming to an end, I think Borzou Dargahi's article in the LA Times sums up the trip best. As Borzou descibes, the trip's purpose was to warn the non-compliant and dissident Ayatollahs that if the boat sinks, they will all go down with it. At the end of the Supreme Leader's trip, a further damning disclosure of a poll taken shortly before the 2009 disputed elections has also surfaced, which goes to show the depth of discontent and dissent in Iran's holiest city and the very bedrock of the 1979 Islamic revolution .

The poll was conducted by Qom's Revolutionary Guards with the help of Information and Surveillance unit of Qom province's Ali Ibn Abi-Taleb's 17th Division. The poll sample is based on a 200,000 statistical population and includes a complete representation of Qom's four districts as well as Qom's seminary and three surrounding burghs, which the letter claims to have the necessary dispersion and deviation for a reliable valid poll.

The poll results are as follows:

- Mir Hussein Moussavi 59.3%
- Mahmoud Ahamdinejad 23.1%
- Mehdi Karroubi 16.3%
- Mohsen Rezaei 1.3%

Add to this the fear some people may have had when taking part in a poll conducted by the Information and Surveillance unit of the Revolutionary Guards, one can extrapolate the true extent of dissent across Iran's holiest city and then across the rest of Iran.

Mixed Results Boards to be Banned from Iran's Universities

The country is facing grave economic and social catastrophes but just like comical Ali in his final days, Iranian officials are living in a state of total denial. The Science Minister, Kamran Daneshjoo, was interviewed on state TV few days ago. He denied important issues like the brain drain facing the country and instead unveiled his plans for new Islamic universities. Daneshjoo claimed that after three decades since the Islamic revolution in 1979, Iran's schools and universities were still run based on Western models and were not Islamised enough. When the TV presenter asked Daneshjoo, what will his ideal Islamic universities be like? What do you think was on the top of his list? You probably guessed from the title of this post. To a bemused looking presenter, Daneshjoo replied 'Mixed results boards will be banned and will be segregated'.

Presumably a mixed results board means male and female students will huddle together in front of the results board and some un-Islamic activities will then pursue, leading to threats against the national security of the country. At a time when the rest of the world is pursuing to lead the science and technology race, the most important issue for Iran's Science Minister is the mixed results boards!

And where did Kamran Daneshjoo, who conducted the fraudulent 2009 elections study himself? Here in the good old UK, where there are mixed student resident halls, mixed lecture halls, mixed student bars as well as mixed results boards. Only Kamran Daneshjoo was deported from UK. We are not sure why? He claims its because he took part in an anti-Salman Rushdie demonstration.

On Daneshjoo's own university page, he states he is a graduate of Manchester Imperial Institute of Science and Technology. Does anyone know where that is?

Lauren Booth Converts to Islam

How Pro-Ahmadinejad News Websites Twist Facts

Combing through Iran news today, I came across an article in one of the pro-Ahmadinejad websites. The title was 'Israeli Women Sell Their Bodies: [Pictures Included]' and the first paragraph said:
'In a blatant act of decadence and social moral corruption, women are displayed for sale in shop windows throughout Israel's major chain stores'. The article quotes several Israeli papers to back up its claim for this depraved social perversion which is gripping Israel and ends with a paragraph which says:
'Each woman has a price tag, which also displays her age, weight, size and her country of birth. The pictures below show modern women slavery in Israel, a country which claims to have democracy!'

So the message to the people of Iran is clear, democracy will lead to women being displayed in shop windows as sex commodities, is this what you want?

As I scrolled down to see the images and decide whether democracy should be pursued or not, I noticed the women didn't look like they were trying to attract customers. The images didn't look they were trying to entice or provoke men in a sexual way, unless Ahmadinejad supporters find a picture of a battered woman with a black eye sexually enticing! In fact it looked more like a powerful protest against human trafficking and prostitution. The caption for the picture below published in the Iranians news website says 'Slave market in Israel'

And sure enough, the truth is nothing like what the pro-Ahmadinejad sites are claiming with their exact same texts. When did Ahmadinejad and his followers ever tell the truth? It was in fact a protest to highlight the problem of human trafficking for the sex industry and the protesters were calling for people who pay for sex to be prosecuted too.

See the version slightly nearer to the truth: http://www.euronews.net/2010/10/20/women-to-go-protest-targets-sex-trade-in-israel/

and a reminder of what goes on in Iran:
http://azarmehr.blogspot.com/2008/03/islamic-police-chief-of-tehran-caught.html

To the Lebanese Women Without Hejab who Welcomed Ahmadinejad

To the unveiled Lebanese women who went to welcome Ahmadinejad:

Have you ever heard of the Mourning Mothers of Iran, whose children have been murdered for having taken part in peaceful protests? Do you know that on the same day that you were cheering for Ahmadinejad, four of the Mourning Mothers of Iran were arrested? Can you imagine what these families are going through right now? They have killed their children, now they are arresting the mothers and you are cheering for the chief murderer like ignorant illiterates. Are you not mothers yourself or will you not become mothers one day? Have you ever heard of Kahrizak? Can you even imagine what went on there?

Have you ever seen the footage of how Iranian students were dragged like meat by the security forces in Tehran university ? Have you ever watched how your Hezbollah brothers raid people's homes in Iran?
Did you never see how Ahmadinejad's security forces simply ran over the protesters with their vehicles on Ashura? While you were dancing away in your exotic nightclubs, did you never have time to watch how Ahmadinejad's special forces break into people's houses and club defenceless men to death on the roof?

Have you ever heard of Hamed Rouhinejad? Before you let your enthusiasm for Ahmadinejad take over your brains, did you think what his mother could be going through right now? Did you think that she may be watching you on Iranian state TV and how that would cause her further insult to injury?
Have you ever heard of Evin prison? Do you read books? Do you read the papers? Do you go on the web? Did you never watch any of the videos of Neda as she was murdered?

And you still want to cheer for the man whose administration authorised and carried out those crimes?

So you may say Ahmadinejad gave you money, but do you know the price you will eventually pay for his handouts? The price will be the lives of your sons and husbands and the freedoms you have now. The very freedoms that Iranian women have been denied. For if any of you went out to greet Ahmadinejad in Iran the way you were dressed, you would have been arrested and bussed away to a detention centre and humiliated. Is there no limit to your stupidity and ignorance?

I understand your Lebanese men in order to impress you will sit in the cafes and HIRE a bottle of Champagne to look good and impress you.  If you are so easily impressed by false pretences then perhaps I am wasting my time here. In any case those of you who have been pictured screaming for your own version of Don Quixote hero, will go down in history as the quintessential symbols of nitwitted idiot women of Lebanon.

At the Time Ahmadinejad Was Welcomed in Lebanon

At the time when Ahmadinejad was welcomed by some Lebanese who have benefitted from Iran's handouts, these human tragedies took place in Iran.

- The 10 year prison sentence for Hamed Rouhinejad, the Iranian student who suffers from MS, has been extended by a further year. Ahmadinejad's sadistic torturers have sent Hamed to a remote prison and banned his family from visiting him despite the long journey they made to see their son. Hamed has been denied his medication. Hamed's father said "My son is dying, he is now 50% paralysed and is unable to perform his daily routines by himself. How is he a threat to national security?" Hamed's father has had three strokes since his son was arrested.

- Iranian imprisoned human rights lawyer, Mohammad Olyayi Fard, who is in prison for defending his client, is feared to have leukemia.

- Iranian imprisoned human rights lawyer, Nasrin Sotoodeh, who defended her colleague, Olyayi Fard amongst others, is still in prison without being charged and on 18th day of her hunger strike.

- Iranian IT genius, Hossein Ronaghi Maleki, sentenced to 15 years prison is also on hunger strike and his family are not allowed to visit him.

- Four Mourning Mothers, mothers of those martyred in the protests last year, have been arrested, charged with contacts with Zahra Rahnavard.

- Iranian teacher, Abdolreza Ghanbari is facing execution for having taken part in the Ashura protests.

- Families of political prisoners like Parvin Tajik, Elaheh Mojaradi, Akram Neghabi and her daughter have been arrested for no other reason than being related to the prisoners or talking to the media about the plight of their loved ones.

and the list goes on. It seems one solution that will make both Iranians and Lebanese happy is for Ahmadinejad to stay in Lebanon.

Hanna Makhmalbaf Addresses the People of Lebanon Ahead of Ahmadinejad's Visit

Hanna Makhmalbaf is the daughter of Mohsen Makhmalbaf, the famous Iranian film director and an ardent revolutionary in his youth. So much so that during the Shah's rule, by the time Mohsen Makhmalbaf was 15, he had formed his own Islamic militia group and by the age of 17 he was shot and arrested while trying to disarm a policeman.

Neither Mohsen Makhmalbaf nor his daughter Hanna now support what is going on in Iran. In fact they both now back the Green Movement and desire a democratic change in Iran like most Iranians do. Having had the experience of living in a religious state, Hanna hopes her experience will alert the people of Lebanon ahead of Ahmadinejad's imminent visit to Lebanon. Her address to the people of Lebanon comes after the Lebanese authorities decided to stop the showing of her award winning film, Green Days, ahead of Ahmadinejad's visit, during the Beirut International Film Festival, so as not to upset the Iranian dictator who has promised a half billion Dollar loan to Lebanon.

How the People of Iran Were Lied to 30 Years Ago

The picture on the left is an amalgamation of some newspaper titles 30 years ago. It demonstrates how the people of Iran were lied to at the beginning of the revolution.

Starting from top right hand corner, the titles are numbered 1 to 9.

1 - Water and Electricity will become free.

2- Imam Khomeini "In an Islamic state, there is no dictatorship"

3 - Marxists will be allowed freedom of expression

4- Islamic Republic differs from a religious state

5- Imam Khomeini "I will not become the top chief in the country"
6- Elimination of Bank Interests is Certain

7- Do Not Buy Houses, We Will Give Everyone a Home

8- The hapless leader of Iran's secular National Front, Karim Sanjabi "The essence of the Islamic Republic is democratic"

9- Imam Khomeini "The clerics must not become president"

15 Years for Iran's Cyber Hero, Hossein Ronaghi Maleki

There never was an anti-filtering software called Haystack. It simply never existed, yet its advocate, Austin Heap, was sweeping awards and accolades one after another. There was no shortage of media attention for Austin Heap, it was the story of Emperor's Clothes all over again. So much so that Haystack even got exemption from US technology export ban to Iran.

There is no hard evidence that Hossein Derakhshan, a blogger with strong connections to the regime, who constantly justified Ahmadinejad's administration and labelled Iranian opposition figures as Western stooges, is even in prison, yet the plight of the 'Blogfather' is all over the Western media.
Five Western Human Rights organisations and advocators of free speech have called for Derakhshan's release, Article 19, CFJE, CPJ, Index on Censorship and PEN Canada.

The true hero of Iran's struggle against internet censorship, Hossein Ronaghi Maleki, however is in dire condition. He has just received a 15 year prison sentence and is in his sixth day of  hunger strike in protest against this unjust sentence.

Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court, presided by judge Mirabbas, issued the verdict. A court secretary by the name of Sattari orally served Ronaghi-Maleki the verdict.The judiciary officials told Ronaghi's mother, Zoleikha Moussavi, she should be grateful because her son's sentence should have been execution but they reduced it to a prison sentence and if he had co-operated and appeared on a television confesion it would have been further reduced.

Yet there is nothing about Hossein Ronaghi Maleki in the Western media. To my knowledge no freedom of expression organisation or human rights organisation in the West is actively campaigning for Hossein Ronaghi Maleki's release. What do you have to do to get in the Western media and win awards? have a non-existent product or be a regime apologist?

Hossein's mother with the picture of her son outside the prison:

Sadistic Bullies in Iran's Judiciary and Prisons

I have written about Hamed Rouhinejad before, the Iranian student of philosophy who is sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and suffers from the debilitating MS disease.

Hamed's crippling MS has not made the Islamic Republic judiciary and prison authorities any more lenient or merciful. In fact they seem to enjoy maximising this poor young man's suffering. Iran's prison authorities and judiciary not only have denied him his medication, they transferred him to the remote prison in Zanjan too.

These sadistic bullies seem to enjoy watching a young man being tormented to a slow death. Hamed has now lost 50% of his visual and hearing senses and day by day more parts of his body is paralysed. To be a strong healthy man in Islamic Republic's prisons is hell, to endure these dungeons while incapacitated with a terrible disease like MS is beyond any imagination.

Despite the long journey from Tehran to Zanjan, Hamed's family have made every effort to visit him so that their son is not alone as he suffers this gruesome slow death. You would have thought even the cruelest, the most sadistic and heartless fiends would not prevent a young man in such conditions from having the one luxury of a family visit every now and then, yet after having made the long journey to see their son last week, Hamed's family were told they were not allowed to see him and his visiting privileges have been stopped until further notice. How utterly inhumane is that?

Those Iranian expats who attend the regime's dinners, should think about the Hameds in Iran before scuffing their iniquitous morsels.

Arya Aramnejad's Heroic Defence

I am standing before you in this court so that the Almighty will be a witness before you and I. A witness to what is happening today to our beloved Iran and to its brave sons and daughters. So that upon the judgement day when we are held accountable, those of us who stand proud and those of us who hold our heads down will remember that such is destiny. The final reward and punishment is only by God.

If justice was the benchmark, instead of me standing trial today, it should have been those who have disgraced Iran and Islam who should have been standing trial. The very people who want to plunder Iran's wealth and use Islam to cover up their foray and despotism.