Hossein Ronaghi MalekiI am of the belief, every human being’s silence against oppression and injustice is a betrayal of the innocent blood of the martyrs of this land....
I will repeat a quote from the Exalted Prophet Mohamad: “The land and government will survive under blasphemy but will not last under oppression.”
Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, takes questions from the relatives of those killed in post-election protests --- among them is Parvin Fahimi, the mother of 19-year-old Sohrab Arabi, and the wife of Ali Hassanpour. Both men were killed on 15 June 2009 during the mass rally against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's supposed election.
One of many notable moments: when Hassanpour's wife asks if she can travel to see Shaheed and get assurances that she will not be punished, he responds, "I cannot guarantee your safety."
Shaheed has issued an initial report but has been denied entry to Iran by the regime.
In his media interviews last week in the US, President Ahmadinejad declared that there were only 33 people who died in violence after the disputed 2009 Presidential election and that most of these were Basij militiamen.
Parvin Fahimi is the mother of Sohrab Arabi, killed on 15 June 2009 by security forces. (She was not told for weeks about the event or where she could find the body of her son.) Interviewed by Masih Alinejad, Fahimi responds to Ahmadinejad's assertion, "My son was not a Basij member or a rebel. My son was patriotic. He was going for his vote and rights. He was a real Iranian." She continues, "Mr Ahmadinejad is lying since he became President of Iran. He is lying all the time."
Hajar Rostami Motlagh is the mother of Neda Agha Soltan, killed by a member of the security forces on 20 June 2009. In New York, Ahmadinejad said, "We have evidence that proves that she was killed after the fact and BBC fabricated the news by editing the footage.”
Motlagh responded to Rooz Online: "I find this gentleman’s remarks comical."
In accepting this Prize which is in reality a recognition of all prisoners of opinion in my country and my imprisoned or exiled colleagues, I dedicate it to my family and in particular to my wife and children. In addition to the psychological pains of these two years, they have for the past ten years had to live with the dread of an expected "knock on the door." With every unexpected knock on the door, their fragile and innocent hearts were agitated.
I also dedicate this Prize to the mother of Sohrab Arabi [killed on 15 June 2009 by security forces] and all other heartbroken mothers whose sons never returned home. I dedicate it to all tearful mothers, sisters, daughters and the children who live with the pain of having their loved ones in prison.
Parvin Fahimi is the mother of Sohrab Arabi, a 19-year-old youth who was martyred on 20 June 2009 in last year's post-election protests.She offered these comments in an interview with our colleague Masih Alinejad:
I never say I want only what is right for my own son, because every time I go to the Behesht Zahra cemetery, I see other Sohrabs who were murdered, I see other Amir Yussefzadehs, Moharam Cheginis, Ali Reza Eftekharis, Ashkan Sohrabis, Saeed Abbassis, Kianoosh Asas, Abbas Disnaads, Ramin Ramezanis and many more who are buried in other sections and can not all be named here. I wish they would answer, "Who killed these youngsters in their own country?
1900 GMT: BBC Notes Sedition. The BBC has picked up on comments by Ayatollah Jannati, the head of the Guardian Council, that opposition to the system of velayat-e-faqih (clerical supremacy) is a denial of God.
Jannati made the remark in a speech on Sunday in Shiraz: "Denying the guardianship of the Uupreme Leader [is the same as denying God."
The comment effectively equates dissent with mohareb (war against God), a crime which can carry the death penalty.
1740 GMT: 16 Azar. Kalemeh posts an article on today's protest at Tehran University. We have posted six clips of the demonstration in a separate entry.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at 8:14