Iran Special: What the Executions Say About the Regime's "Control" and Murder

It is sad that Jafar Kazemi and Mohammad Ali Hajaghaei have been murdered by the regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It is wrong. And it must be opposed.

The regime has reason to be afraid about its control. The people rose up against them. They rallied together under the banner of, and hope for, a better future --- one in which state-sponsored murder is an abhorrent thing of the past.

For that day to come, we must demand that all executions in Iran be stopped. Immediately. We must pull no stops in getting attention on this matter, internally in Iran and externally. We must talk about this within our families and our communities until all of us come to the realization that we have been living under the shadow of murderers for far too long.

We must not give them an excuse. We must not let them think that they can label someone and then kill them.

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The Latest from Iran (25 January): A Political Conflict Escalates

2145 GMT: Cyber-Watch. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports on how Iranian activists are welcoming the introduction of Google software, include the Chrome browser, Google Earth, and the photo-sharing service Picasa, into Iran.

2140 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Rooz Online publishes the English text of the appeal by 133 intellectuals and academics, such as Noam Chomsky, Cornel West, and Jurgen Habermas, for the freedom of Ebrahim Yazdi, the 80-year-old head of the Freedom Movement of Iran detained since last September.

2125 GMT: Leaving the Mayor at Home. Ayande News notes that Tehran has finished third out of five cities nominated for an international award in sustainable transport, awarded in Washington by a US-based non-government organisation. It mentions that Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf was not at the ceremony.

It does not mention why he was absent, however. Qalibaf was denied an exit visa by the Foreign Ministry.

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The Latest from Iran (24 January): Two More Political Executions

Jafar Kazemi2040 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Prominent reformist Ali Shakouri Rad has been released from detention.

Shakouri Rad was arrested last month after he said in a public debate that the head of Iran's judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, had congratulated Mir Hossein Mousavi on his "victory" on Election Day in June 2009.

1945 GMT: Claim of Day. President Ahmadinejad speaking in Gilan Province in northwest Iran: targeted subsidy cuts are the work of the 12th (Hidden) Imam.

1940 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Journalist and blogger Siamak Ghaderi has been sentenced to four years in prison for “propaganda against the regime”, “disturbing public opinion”, and “spreading lies”.

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