Tehran Updates: Clashes at Jaleh's Funeral; 'Death' Called for Rafsanjani 17 Feb 2011 05:200 Comments<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2011/02/clashes-at-demonstrators-tehran-funeral.html#disqus_thread>
*Press Roundup provides selected excerpts of news and opinion pieces from the Iranian and international media. Click on the link to the story to read it in full. Tehran Bureau has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. The inclusion of various opinions in no way implies their endorsement by Tehran Bureau. Please refer to the* Media Guide<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2009/12/media-guide.html> *to help put the stories in perspective. You can follow other news items through our* Twitter <http://twitter.com/TehranBureau> *feed.* *Iran Standard Time (IRST), GMT+3:30* [image: RafsanjaniGesture.jpg]*5:00 a.m./Feb 17*: After the calls this week for the executions of Green Movement leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Mohammad Khatami, hardliners in the regime have apparently added another big name to the death wish list: Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, president of the Islamic Republic between 1989 and 1997. Radio Zamaneh reports<http://www.radiozamaneh.com/were%20english/content/moderate-cleric-hashemi-deriled-iranian-hardliners>: Two days after the Bahman 25 (February 14) protests, supporters of Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, shown on national TV chanting slogans in Qom calling for the death of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani. The moderate cleric is the chairman of Iran's two major governing bodies, the Assembly of Experts and the Expediency Council. The crowd in Qom called for the dismissal of Ayatollah Rafsanjani from his government posts and the prosecution and execution of the two opposition leaders, MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi who issued the rally call for Monday. The attacks against Hashemi Rafsanjani have come despite firm condemnation of the February 14 protests by the Assembly of Experts. The Assembly of Experts has accused the protests of falsely using the recent Arab uprisings to further "seditious" objectives. The Assembly of Experts is the body that selects the Supreme Leader and (nominally, at least) supervises his activities. The Expediency Council advises the Supreme Leader and, in Iran's complex governing apparatus<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2010/11/iran-primer-irans-power-structure.html>, adjudicates conflicts between the Majles (parliament) and the Guardian Council, the body charged with vetting the Majles's legislation for conformity with the Iranian Constitution and Islamic law. The hardliners have frequently put pressure on members of Rafsanjani's family<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2010/05/mehdi-hashemi-and-the-british-devil.html>, and last year moved to wrest control<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2010/10/khamenei-grab-for-azad-german-journos-sakinehs-son-lawyer-arrested.html>of the vast Islamic Azad University system from him, but he has rarely been targeted so directly, openly, and in such dire terms. Our Muhammad Sahimi took a close look at this fascinating figure last year in "The Middle Road of Hashemi Rafsanjani"<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2010/04/the-middle-road-of-hashemi-rafsanjani.html>. He reports that one of the slogans now being heard is "Vatan vatan nashavad, taa Hashemi kafan nashavad" (Homeland will not be homeland, until Hashemi is shrouded -- i.e., dead and dressed for burial). *1:25 a.m./Feb 17*: Tehran Bureau columnist Muhammad Sahimi has compiled the following report: Two children of *Ayatollah Asadollah Bayat Zanjani* (who is close to the reformists, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Mehdi Karroubi) were arrested on Monday. *Mohammad Mostafa Bayat Zanjani* is a arts school graduate and his sister *Sousan Bayat Zanjani* is a graduate student studying architecture at the University of Isfahan. Ayatollah Bayat Zanjani has said there is no difference between his children and those of other families that have been arrested. *Shahrbanou Amani*, a reformist deputy from Orumieh in the 5th and 6th Majles, has been arrested. She has repeatedly criticized the last presidential election in Iran. *Ali Nabavi*, a political activist in Seman (a town east of Tehran), has been arrested. He and his wife had been arrested last year in the aftermath of the 2009 presidential election, and he had been given a sentence of two years. His wife, Atefeh Nabavi, was given a four-year sentence and is currently in jail. *Mohammad Hossein Khoshvaght*, who headed the press division of Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance during the Khatami administration and currently manages the website Fararoo, has been arrested. *Gholam-Ali Dehghan*, managing editor of Aftab News, a website that is close to Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is also among the arrested. *Dr. Ahmad Hakimipour*, head of the Coordination Committee of the Reforms Front, a deputy in the 4th Majles, and publisher of the weekly Omid-e Zanjan, has been arrested. *Fatemeh Karroubi*, Mehdi Karroubi's wife, has written a letter to Speaker of the Majles Ali Larijani criticizing the attacks of Majles deputies on her husband yesterday. She has said, "I have accepted the fact that we no longer even have the right to live under a political system in whose establishment we played the most important roles." The home of *Hossein Karroubi*, Mehdi Karroubi's eldest son, has been invaded and occupied by security forces. Two university professors, *Dr. Mansour Nasiri Kashani*, a professor at the University of Medical Sciences of Tehran, and *Dr. Ali Akbar Pourfatollah*, a professor at Tarbiyat Modarres University, have been arrested. This is apparently because they had conducted investigations about the families of the political prisoners. Some reports also indicate that *Dr. Ali Akbar Alizad*, a professor at the Art University, where Saneh Jaleh was studying, has also been arrested. *Fakhr-olsadat Mohtashamipour*, the wife of leading reformist Mostafa Tajzadeh, has been threatened with arrest if she shows up at Evin prison and asks about her jailed husband. Tajzadeh has reportedly been taken to an unknown location. *Mehdi Sharifian*, a movie director, producer and documentary filmmaker, has been arrested. He had reportedly taken part in Monday's demonstrations. Reports indicate that at least 16 students from Sharif University of Technology and at least 15 students from the Art University have been arrested, as have two other students, one each from the University of Tehran and Kh. Nasir Toosi University. Reports indicate that the notorious Kahrizak detention center, shut down in the aftermath of the 2009 election after at least four young detainees were tortured to death there, has been reopened for business. Followers of reactionary cleric *Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi* have prevented the classes of two Grand Ayatollahs, *Hossein Vahid Khorasani*(father-in-law of Sadegh Larijani, the judiciary chief) who is considered the most important ayatollah in Qom, and *Mousa Shobeiri Zanjani*, from forming today. Both had recently met with the families of political prisoners. Former Foreign Minister *Ali Akbar Velayati*, who is currently chief foreign policy advisor to Ayatollah Khamenei, claimed today that there was no doubt that Mousavi and Karroubi "are politically linked with foreign powers." *Ahmad Khatami*, the conservative cleric, demanded in a speech in Qom that the Ministry of Interior outlaw all the clerical and non-clerical groups that support the reformists and the Green Movement. In a strong statement, a group of students and members of the Muslim Students Association of the University of Tehran warned against the continuation of the present conditions in the country. Referring to Ahmadinejad's government as the "coup government," the statement praised the demonstrations Monday and warned that if the government moves against the leaders of the Green Movement, the students will not remain silent. *12:15 a.m./Feb. 17* Slain protester Saneh Jaleh is featured in a Pink Floyd parody video that takes on Islamic hypocrisy. The short film was reportedly banned at the Tehran Arts College where it was made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np0sg9ZaDR0&feature=player_embedded Mehran [student who looks like a member of the Basij (sitting on prayer mat)]: Did you have satanic dreams again? Take a shower. Music student on bunk-bed: Let me be, I was dreaming of all my miseries. (Pause) Mehran, what day is it? Mehran: Today is Monday. Music Student: Oh no, I have class today. [Jumps out of bed to get ready.] The music student then asks whether Mehran has seen his instrument (it seems to be not where he left it...). Mehran chides him about it, then points to the corner of the room where it's located. "Reform yourself," he admonishes as his roommate leaves. As soon as Mehran has the dorm room to himself, he tunes into a music video -- in English! (apparently he likes the alternative genre) -- then phones a lady acquaintance with whom he makes a rendezvous that day. He refers to her as a "Haj Khanoon," a woman presumably married to a religious man. The exchange is laden with language the religious use to exchange pleasantries. The video has probably turned up and is being circulated because news outlets close to the government claim that Jaleh was a supporter of the regime and that he was shot by agents provocateurs controlled by various opposition groups. *Kayhan's* Hossein Shariatmadari<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/showdown/interviews/shariatmadari.html>has gone as far as alleging<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N9b4SEZaQA&feature=player_embedded>that Jaleh was an informer for the regime. Opposition forces, with Jaleh's friends and classmates at the forefront, are leading a counteroffensive to prevent what they see as the cynical exploitation of the slain protester. Jaleh's brother told VOA in an interview<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toxB5J4jb5s&feature=player_embedded>that a cousin who works in the security service had come by and asked for Saneh's photo. The photo was then used in an allegedly fake Basij ID card. *11:45 p.m.* Trend <http://en.trend.az/about.php> News Agency reported<http://en.trend.az/news/politics/1830217.html>that an Iranian employee of Japan's Embassy in Iran has been arrested and accused of participating in rallies held in Tehran on Feb.14. The Spanish consul's advisor for consular affairs in Tehran, Ingacio Perez Cambra, was reportedly detained by Iranian special services and later released. *11:15 p.m.* Video showing the Arts University on Wednesday. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xPGfP0ffVs&feature=player_embedded *8:15 p.m.* The Battle of Images The following photos from are from Fars<http://www.farsnews.com/plarg.php?nn=M715702.jpg>, a news agency close to Iran's security forces. [image: 1_8911271132_L600.jpg][image: 11_8911271132_L600.jpg][image: 3_8911271132_L600.jpg] Green Movement supporters of the slain protestor have mounted their own posters online (opposite). [image: 182044_202052749809760_100000151094420_880470_2660843_n.jpg] [image: 182692_202052669809768_100000151094420_880467_283803_n.jpg] *7:15 p.m.* Homylafayette translated this from a claimed eyewitness: I was there [at Saneh Jaleh's funeral service]. There were two or three thousand Basijis, and our group was at about a 100 or 200 maximum. They trampled on Saneh's blood. They did nothing but engage in insults at his service. They got into fights amongst themselves three or four times about what to do with the kids (to beat them or not, to let them go or not) who were in Farabi [Translator's guess is that this is the name of one of the halls at the university]. From the start, the kids didn't do anything illegal or ugly. They (the students) were just standing in a corner, but they (the Basijis) didn't even like that and created a skirmish and the kids went into Farabi and closed the door. *7:46 p.m.* Homylafayette <http://homylafayette.blogspot.com/> reports that the regime gets more "tech savvy...sort of," anyway: Following the announcement by the Islamic Republic's security forces that a cyber-police squad had been formed, it was interesting to note the recent creation of a dozen pro-regime Twitter accounts. They're a bit far from properly impersonating independent and grass-roots accounts as the following screen capture<http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QhB5o1IYrTc/TVvncbcowbI/AAAAAAAABKI/3MVjUPtpB2k/s1600/Pro-regime+Twitter+accounts+1.jpg>shows: identical tweets lauding Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were posted by several different "users" at exactly the same time. *6:06 p.m.* From the AP (via WaPo <http://wapo.st/eNbPAw>), about an hour ago: Iran's opposition leaders remained defiant Wednesday despite calls from hard-liners for them to be brought to trial and put to death, with one reform advocate saying he was willing to "pay any price" in pursuit of democratic change. A day later, furious hard-line lawmakers pumped their fists in the air in parliament and called for opposition leaders to be tried and sentenced to death. One of the pro-reform figures, Mahdi Karroubi, was unmoved. "I declare that I am not afraid of any threat," said Karroubi, who has been effectively kept under house arrest since first calling for the demonstrations earlier this month. "As I've demonstrated in serving the nation as a soldier (political activist) since 1962, I am ready to pay any price in this graceful path." "We warn (the ruling system) that before it is too late, stop being stubborn and hear the voice of the people," he said in remarks posted on his website, sahamnews.org. "Exercising violence and opposing peoples' wishes can last for a limited time. Take a lesson from the fate of governments that distanced themselves from the people." Another Iranian opposition figure, Mir Hossein Mousavi, praised protesters who turned out for Monday's rally. "Praise be on you. Your glorious rally on Feb. 14 is a great achievement for the nation and the (opposition) Green Movement," Mousavi said on his website, kaleme.com. 'God, Let Me Die Standing': Remembering Mohammad Mokhtari by DAN GEIST 17 Feb 2011 12:290 Comments<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2011/02/god-let-me-die-standing-remembering-mohammad-mokhtari.html#disqus_thread> [image: Mokhtari6.jpg][image: MokhtariBeach.jpg] *Martyr: "a person who sacrifices something of great value and esp. life itself for the sake of principle."* *[ memorial ]* Mohammad Mokhtari, a 22-year-old university student, died on Tuesday from a gunshot wound he suffered while participating in Tehran's pro-democracy demonstrations the previous day. He is the second person confirmed to have lost his life as a result of the 25 Bahman protests<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2011/02/iran-live-blog-25-bahman-14-february.html>, following Saneh Jaleh<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2011/02/saneh-jaleh-and-the-battle-for-a-slain-protesters-memory.html>. As in the case of Jaleh, the Islamic Republic regime has undertaken an intensive propaganda campaign to claim him as a government supporter, a campaign that has yet to account for the young man's final posting on his Facebook page: "God, let me die standing, because I'm tired of this life of degradation." Still, the faithful employees try. In an article titled "Funeral Processions Held for Two Martyrs of Illegal Demos," the *Tehran Times*, the regime's primary -- if nominally independent -- English-language print organ, attributed <http://www.tehrantimes.com/Index_view.asp?code=235969> his death, like Jaleh's, to "rioters," evidently adopted as the official codeword for the 25 Bahman protestors: [image: MohammadMokhtari.jpg] Funeral processions for martyrs Sane' Jalleh and Mohammad Mokhtari, who died as a result of injuries received during the illegal demonstrations in central Tehran on Monday, were held in the Iranian capital on Wednesday. Thousands of people, including several senior Iranian officials, attended the funeral processions. According to witnesses, Jalleh, Mokhtari, and two other people were shot by rioters during the unrest on Monday. Jalleh succumbed to his injuries on the same day, and Mokhtari died on Tuesday. Press TV, the English-language subsidiary of the state broadcasting network, similarly framed <http://www.presstv.ir/detail/165306.html> the story this way, "In the Iranian capital Tehran, anti-government groups, including members of the anti-Iran terrorist group Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO), have staged riots, killing two people." The cultic <http://www.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/mena/iran0505/index.htm>MKO is not generally regarded to have any effective presence within Iran now, though its lingering existence in refugee camps in Iraq and a rump "exile parliament" in Europe serves the propaganda purposes of both the Islamic Republic's regime, which promotes the MKO as a neverending mortal threat<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2011/01/two-mko-terrorists-hanged-for-taking-pictures-far-right-gunning-for-mashaei.html>to the Iranian people and therefore justifies all sorts of militarization measures, and certain American politicians<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/22/AR2010122203666.html>, who apparently fantasize that the group can help depose that regime and restore Iran to its meet role as a U.S. ally. Farnaz Fassihi actually spoke with Mokhtari's family and friends and here is what he reported<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703961104576148070942697648.html>for the *Wall Street Journal*: Mr. Mokhtari, described as strikingly handsome with jet black hair and big eyes, came from a large middle class family, and loved sports. He hiked on weekends and played soccer and basketball, friends say. He had a good sense of humor and relished the Iranian political satire show *Parazit,*<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2010/08/parazits-sharp-cuts.html>aired on Voice of America and modeled after the Comedy Central's *Daily Show With Jon Stewart,* according to his Facebook postings. His Facebook postings are nearly all about encouraging friends to join the antigovernment protests on Monday. Before he headed out to the demonstrations, he posted "Happy Valentine's Day," and then posted a funny video of an Iranian woman dancing. Both [he and Jaleh] were shot by men on motorcycles that their friends say bore the hallmarks of the Basij. After Mr. Mokhtari was shot, he briefly fell to the ground but got up and continued marching for a while as blood soaked his shirt, witnesses said. He said he was fine, according to [a] friend, but died in the hospital the next day. In mere physical terms, he thus departed this life in a hospital bed. In truth, by contrast, he surpassed even his own proud wish to die standing. Mohammad Mokhtari died marching. [image: MokhtariFuneral.jpg][image: MokhtariFuneral1.jpg][image: MokhtariFuneral6.jpg] [image: MokhtariFuneral3.jpg][image: MokhtariFuneral5.jpg][image: MokhtariFuneral2.jpg] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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