The Latest from Iran (23 August): Arrested...for Helping Earthquake Victims

Some of those arrested in East Azerbaijan Province for helping earthquake victims, in a photo before their detentions: Vahed Kholoosi (far right), Hossein Ronaghi Maleki (front row, white hat), Navid Khanjani (front row, black hat), Misagh Afshar (front row, sitting on the right of Hossein Ronaghi), Artemis Varzandeh (front row, second from left)

---

2343 GMT: The Earthquakes. Back to our opening story --- activists report that all eight women and four men arrested while helping victims of the East Azerbaijan earthquake have been released on bail.

At least 23 other men remain behind bars.

A photograph of one of the detainees, blogger Hossein Ronaghi Maleki, with a young girl while helping with the recovery:

Click to read more ...

Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- From Earthquakes to Islamic Law in Outer Space (Arseh Sevom)

"Our Hearts Are With You, Azerbaijan"

---

It was a week that began with medals and international sportsmanship yet ended with disaster as two earthquakes hit an area close to Tabriz in northwestern Iran. Netizens were shocked by the lack of Iranian media coverage of the quakes and an MP called for direct donations and volunteerism. Many inside and outside Iran are using social media to organize and report on assistance to the quake stricken areas.

The Supreme Leader turns a deaf ear to pleas from student organizations to "open prison gates" and a news agency affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards acknowledges the mass executions of the 1980s. There are questions about a doubling of US wheat imports while sanctions blocking the payments for needed medications are in place. A community exchanges waterpipes for sports equipment and a seminary promotes Islamic jurisprudence in outer space.

Click to read more ...

Iran Feature: Facebook and the Earthquakes (Kaviani)

Back in 2009, at the height of mass protests that followed Iran's disputed presidential election, Facebook emerged as an important tool for protesters to share news and information. It had such an impact that the authorities even branded Facebook a weapon in a "soft war" against the Islamic republic. 

As a result, users in Iran have to jump through hoops to access the social-media website today. Unbowed, they go through the hassle of going through proxy servers to circumvent the regime's efforts to block Facebook.

And this week, for those suffering from the earthquakes that struck northwestern Iran, their unsanctioned efforts were life-saving.

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (12 August): 250+ Killed in Earthquakes in Northwest

People shelter overnight after the two earthquakes in East Azerbaijan Province

See also Iran Document: Students to the Supreme Leader "If Only You Ordered Tolerance Towards Dissent"
The Latest from Iran (11 August): US Uses Syria for More Sanctions

---

2002 GMT: Picture of the Day. An image from the rescue effort after the two earthquakes in northwestern Iran:

Click to read more ...