Newsletter of Student Information Center, August 8 2009

Saturday August 8th, 2009

NEWS
--BBC: The second trial session to examine charges of those arrested after the tenth presidential
elections in Iran was held today. News sources have confirmed presence of Ahmad Zeidabadi (journalist and the secretary general of Dafatar-e Tahkim Vahdat Alumni Organization) , Ali Tajernia (member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front central council and Mashhad’s representative in the sixth Parliament), Shahabeddin Tabatabaei (member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front central council), Hedayat Aghaei (member of the Executives of Construction Party central council), Mohammad Javad Emam (member of t he Islamic Republic Mojahedin Organization) in the trial. The French national Clotilde Reiss and two local employees of French and British embassies were other attendees of the trial today.
The indictment presented at the second trial session mostly contained accusation of western countries of their attempts to provide conditions to overthrow [the regime], and in addition to some countries, names of a few credible international companies were also declared in this indictment. Britain has been named individually in several sections of this indictment. This country has been accused that, through its embassy in Tehran, it has tried to get close to the political parties and has “extensively” used its local employees to collect information all through the city. The Deputy Prosecutor has accused “all the British Embassy diplomats” of attending the “illegal post-election assemblies” and has named the first and second political secretary general of this embassy and two other British diplomats under this accusation.
This indictment also has named meeting with “one of the prominent political reformists during his visa process and discussion about the elections candidates, post-election events and the Friday Prayer’s sermons after the elections” as charges against the first political consul general of the British Embassy.
The British Council (UK's international organization for cultural relations) has been also accused that by “granting scholarships and holding language examinations (including IELTS)”, this council has identified “informed” and “effective” people to “facilitate their exploitation in critical circumstances”.

The indictment has accused the Nokia-Siemens company for “providing false information” about the communication monitoring systems. Twitter, Facebook and Google are other companies being accused of supporting the riots.

--BBC: Great Britain Foreign Ministry in response to the presence of Hossein Rassam, the Britain Embassy employee in Tehran, in the second trial session of the post-election detainees in Tehran, detainees after the presidential elections in Iran, called Iran’s action an “outrage”. The Britain Foreign Office statement was released at the same time that Iranian news sources quoting Mr Rassam in the trial session claimed that he “on the order of Embassy officials” has attempted to “contact influential people and figures in the political groups and organizations”. This Office in a statement announced that Iran’s action in putting Mr Rassam in trial “is completely unacceptable” and added that this action “directly contradicts assurances we have repeatedly been given by Iranian officials.” This statement continues: “We deplore these trials and the so-called confessions of prisoners who have been denied their basic human rights.”
--Tabnak-Mowj Sabz: Regarding the trial of political activists and post-election detainees, three relatives of Ali Tajernia have been arrested. Some officials had told the family of Ali Tajernia, a representative in the sixth Parliament and one of the activists in Mir Hossein Mousavi’s campaign that in order to see him they could attend today’s trials. Ali Tajernia’s family including his wife, brother and sister-in-law were not allowed to enter the court therefore they have been waiting outside hoping they would meet Dr Tajernia for a few moments after the trial. After the trial ended, some plain clothed officers approached Zahra Miryounsei, Tajernia’s wife and asked her to show her ID and declare her Iranian or foreignnational identity, but she was arrested for not having her ID with her. Tajernia’s brother and sisterin-law objected the officers’ action which resulted in their detention. According to Mowj Sabz, they were released after a few hours of detention.
--Radio Farda: The personal website of Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rasfsanjani has removed the article about next Tehran’s Friday Prayers to be performed by him.
This website had previously written that Friday Prayers of August 14 will be led by Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, head of the Assembly of Experts and the Expediency Council of the System. At the same time, Khabar newspaper quoting Hojjatol Islam Reza Naghavi, the senior chief of Tehran Friday Prayers, said called the presence and leading the next Friday Prayers by Ayatoolah Hashemi Rafsanjani uncertain and dependent upon the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei’s comment.
--Radio Farda: Saturday morning while the second trial session of protesters to the presidential election results was being held, dozens of their relatives gathered in front of the court building in Khayyam St, Tehran. According to an eyewitness, several security forces prevented them from approaching the court building and visiting their detained family members.
--Mowje Sabz: Following the dismissal of Haj Habibollah and Khazaei, two Minister of Intelligence deputies, the farewell ceremony of Dr Firouzabadi, the IT deputy of this department was held today and soon this ceremony will be held for the parliament deputy of this Ministry. According to “Alef”, Firouzabadi had 25 years experience of technical responsibility in the Ministry of Information and has been accredited as one of the prominent IT specialists. According to latest news, the parliament deputy Mansourizadeh’s farewell will be held tomorrow and it has been said that the protection deputy will soon be changed. These changes take place while currently there is no Minister of Intelligence in office and the president supervises this Ministry.
--Mowje Sabz: Islamic Iran Participation Front in a statement while condemning continuation of
detention and repression of independent and reformist journalists and unprecedented censorship by the ruling power-oriented authority, has congratulated the Journalist Day to all the honored owners of this title, journalists, reporters and other independent activists of this field. This statement says: “This year on the eve of the Journalist Day, the Iranian Association of journalists as the house and safe resort of these noble people has been locked two days ago by those who have issued the closure sentences of over 100 newspapers, magazines and publications and thousands of arrest sentences for journalists and reporters, therefore media and press people have been deprived of their only independent support.
--Mowj Sabz: A group of political activists in Golestan province have sent an open letter to Ayattollah-Noormofidi, this province's representative in the Assembly of Experts and have asked him to protest against the crack down in this province and the country. They have warned that upon separation of the clergy and regime from people, the clergy will be removed from the political scene of Iran's society for ever.
--Deutche Welle: Forty Iranian and German philosophers in a statement while expressing solidarity with Iran’s civil society, objected the violent oppression of protesters to election results in Iran. They demanded the release of those detained in recent weeks. Among the statement signatories are notable names such as Angelika Beer (chair of the delegation for relations with Iran in the EU), Rainer Brown (a politician in the Social Democratic Party of Germany), Hamid Debashi (University of Columbia professor), Mohsen Masserat (German-resident Iranian elite and peace researcher).

NEWS OF THE ARRESTED, MISSING, AND DECEASED
--BBC: Following concerns expressed by Saeed Hajjarian’s family about his health condition, Ghorbanali Dorri NajafAbadi, the attorney-general of the Islamic Republic, said the special Judiciary board has recommended that Mr Hajjarian should be released. According to Mr Dorri Najafabadi, Saeed Hajjarian is provided good facilities and conditions in the detention, but “our suggestion was that Hajjarian be released and taken under control in his house.”

--BBC: Arash Naeimian, the son of Nazak Afshar, the employee of the French Embassy cultural section says security officers have arrested and tried his mother all in two days. Mrs Afshar’s son says that during the interrogations in late June, his mother was threatened to be accused of acting against national security, but now from what the Iranian officials have named Nazak Afshar’s confessions, it seems that she has been charged with “Rioting, creating a network and sheltering the riots in the cultural section of the French embassy”. Mr Naeimian called these charges ridiculous. Mrs Afshar hired a lawyer after being arrested on Thursday but has not been able to meet with him.

ANALYSIS
--Norooz: Dr Hashem Aghajari called the political activists detained after June 12 elections hostages of the coup d'etat against nation’s will and vote and said: The arresting and behaving ways with the detained political activists has extended beyond a wilfull or illegal move and is a political hostage-taking.
Aghajari said the main purpose of detention of the political activists is to take hostages to influence the main idea of coup, and said: The logic of hostage taking is like a “tit for tat”. Hostage-takers turn the life of the hostage individual or group the key point for bargaining and solving the main problem so that so that the original issue will be forgotten; this is what we witnessed in the sailors detention case and also in detention of foreign businessmen and citizens. This member of the Islamic Mojahedin central council continued: The post-election hostage-taking of political activists is in fact a way to deviate the public opinion, media and people from the main issue of June 12 coup d'and to the current arrests and alter the main demand from returning nation’s vote to asking for release of the detainees. In this way, release of the reformist political activists will be the price paid instead of resolving the main issue which was the elections fraud. Hashem Aghajari said: Our fundamental problem is that on June 12, 2009 a will inside the sovereignty performed a coup against will of the people and that is why people ask to take back their vote. However, [the officials] want us to leave the main issue behind and forget about the fraud in nation’s vote with release of the detainees.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND WARNINGS
Mohsen Sazegara released his video for Friday to Sunday. He stated that when there is not the
possibility of forming initial cores for major demonstrations, the method of scattered protests should be undertaken. But he emphasized in locations which are assumed to witness a large number of crowd (such as Ahya (mourning) nights, stadiums, etc), it is possible to protest with advanced notice. He said it is appropriate to turn the stadiums green and create a political atmosphere there, but stressed that because of their confined feature and the possibility of being identified, activists should pay their maximum attention and care not to be arrested. Sazegara also pointed out that having flash mobs is a daily plan of this movement and does not require public call. However, if there is a call for a major demonstration in any location, preparing in advance is very important and crucial. He said one of the most effective ways to paralyze the country is by boycotting goods but warned to be aware of abused. In order to regulate the sanctions, he suggested to boycott governmental goods while givin priority to items manufactures or imported by the Guard Corps. He said a list of these items is being written and will soon be distributed. The audio files of Sazegara's speech are attached to this newsletter.

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(German translation available at http://seaofgreen-germany.blogspot.com/2009/08/newsletter-des-sic-vom-08082009-deutsch.html)