Family of slain Iranian protester wants answers

Family of slain Iranian protester wants answers The images of Neda Agha Soltan’s death on the streets of Tehran transformed her into an icon for Iran’s opposition movement. But very few know of Ramin Ramezani, who was killed five days before Neda during last year’s post-election demonstrations in the Iranian capital. “I always say Neda […]

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Iran military wants ‘swift retribution’

Top Iranian military officials have called for even faster prosecutions and demanded "swift retribution" for post-election detainees, despite more than 100 Iranians going through mass trials this month, Iranian media reported. The detainees were among those arrested amid protests against the disputed election, in which hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the overwhelming winner.

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On Tehran’s Streets: Defiance and a Crushing Response

Nearly two weeks of silence on the streets of Tehran were broken in the evening of July 9 when thousands marched through the central districts of the Iranian capital to protest the June 12 presidential election. Another anniversary helped precipitate the show of apparent defiance: the 10th anniversary of a bloody student uprising that was brutally put down by the government. Despite threats earlier in the day of a “crushing” response, men, women and even some children went onto the streets with chants of “Death to the dictator” and “Mousavi, Mousavi!” But the response was indeed crushing

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Iranian cleric urges firm punishment for protesters

Two weeks into turmoil, Iran’s leaders turned up the heat Friday as a high-ranking cleric warned protesters that they would be punished "firmly" and shown no mercy. “Rioters and those who mastermind the unrest must know the Iranian nation will not give in to pressure and accept the nullification of the election results,” said Ayatollah Ahmed Khatami during Friday prayers in Tehran, according to Iran’s state-run Press TV.

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Forbidden Iran: How to Report When You’re Banned

Like other journalists who work for foreign media organizations, I was banned early on from reporting on the protests against the official victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. First, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance sent a fax prohibiting me from reporting on the streets. Then I got a call to return my already annulled press card in person

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Young woman describes beating at hands of paramilitary

A 19-year-old woman who was wounded by Iranian paramilitary forces with clubs escaped with her camera and shared her photos with CNN — after tricking a paramilitary soldier into thinking she had given him the images on a disk. The woman — whose identity is being withheld by CNN — said Sunday that on the previous day “the streets were full of guards and policemen.” “They were hitting everyone, and everywhere was fire because of the tear gas they throw at us,” she said. She was walking to Freedom Square in Tehran with a group of fellow demonstrators, but the Basij — voluntary paramilitary forces that answer to the government — wouldn’t let them get through, she said

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