Human Rights Lawyer Detained In Iran

According to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, human rights lawyer Shadi Sadr has been detained.

Amnesty International said arrests in Iran of civil society activists like Shadi Sadr appear to be intensifying.

"This was an illegal, arbitrary and violent arrest in which no attempt was made by the authorities to show identification or provide any explanation for their action," said Malcolm Smart, director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme.

Iran Election Fallout, Ctd.

Andrew Sullivan's blog continues to be an indispensable source of information on what's happening in Iran. He has a massive number of readers, some of whom are sending eyewitness accounts or translating Farsi sources.

On the theory that the regime has "imported" cops:

If true, another sign of how desperate the regime is. A reader writes:

Just got off the phone with my dad. He leaves in northern Tehran, off Afrika Blvd.

He said that most iranians believe that a lot of the "commandos" on the bikes are Hezbollah arabs brought in to do to the citizens what a Persian cop would refuse to do. Accordingly when the protesters knock one of the biker thugs off they are being particularly brutal, believing that the rider is Arab.

Bank storefronts have been smashed all over northern Tehran. Mousavi, Khatami and Rafsanjani are allegedly meeting at Mousavi's house (who is under house arrest) and are planning their next move. People there are waiting for further instructions from Mousavi. In my dad's neighborhood BBC Persia and Voice of America have been knocked off the satellite but not in all parts. Sorry this is rambling I'm getting constant calls from Tehran. Will speak to my father again in two hours and will let you know anything new.

On students risking their lives.

In this country, we merely have to risk our apathy to vote. These students are risking their lives. They are the heroes of our time [...]

He also linked to this site, which links to English-language Twitter feeds. Some examples:

My Father has a truck load of ballot boxes that were to be burned in the back of his truck.

i eats some pills and wanna sleep and i scared that if they can find me ...i going...thx for your supports....

typing as fastest as I can in bth English&Farsi,Still we need outside help,I really don't want to be captured by Ansar

Once again I thank everyone in the world. No matter if Ahmadi stays or not, I'm proud to have clasped such supportive hands.

URGENT JUST IN, there r TANKS in front of the interior ministry of tehran in valiasr st. & fatemi CAREFUL

I can't find my friends on streets.

Rasht, glass splinters on the streets, riot police not hesitating to beat men, women and even kids

From Enghelab Sq friend just call me, Police & unknown forces beating everybody for no apparent reason!

Correction, no bus burned, but three cars.

dawn is breaking. can hear prayers from mosques.

cousin in tehran is traumatized by the club and baton beatings on tehran streets. eyewitness report of a girl beaten to death.

IRG's helicopter flying low on yousefabadad Amirabad Gisha right now creating a devastating sound and making windows shake

sources from Tehran: ppl are killed, ppl are in blood, tehran is hell.

We witnessed police spraying pepper gas into the eyes of peaceful female protesters

We are here in the dark, all kinds of rumors fly by; nothing is sure.

IRIB TV warned people seriously about going to tomorrow's rally, mobile network might be down for tomorrow's rally.

While there has been a lot of (legitimate) criticism on the failure of cable news networks to cover these events, Fareed Zakaria covered a lot of ground today, interviewing Christiane Amanpour and hosting a panel of experts.

Iran Election Fallout

Andrew Sullivan has been posting all day on reactions and updates. On the count:

Confirmation from al Jazeera:

And with each updated count, Ahmadinjad's lead did not waver from a very stable range of 66-69 per cent, irrespective of which districts were reporting.

This looks like such a crude rigging of the vote that it is either a sign of utter incompetence or profound panic, and probably both. One assumes that the Khameini forces have total confidence that they can suppress any resistance after such a provocation. But what if they are as capable of misjudging that as they were the electorate?

"The Democratic Spirit" in Iran

Andrew Sullivan has a great post on the election campaign in Iran.

I don't know whether you have been reading the various press accounts of the election campaign in Iran. I know that the candidates' list is fixed, but I can also see democratic spirit when it is bang in front of me. There appears to be a genuine fight for votes; and the images from the Mousavi rallies look more like Obama rallies than assemblies in a totalitarian state. Notice how young these people look, and how unafraid.

Does anyone doubt that if this kid of peaceful campaigning were happening in Iraq, it would be regarded as a sign of a nascent democracy?

----------------
But we should not be blind to change when it emerges. Ahmadinejad has discredited himself in the eyes of many Iranians. They are looking for change they can believe in. This is the target audience for Obama this Thursday. He needs to reach out to the democratic forces in that country and remind them that America is their ally.

(Image from a pro-Mousavi rally from the Charlotte Observer.)

Facebook Blocked in Iran

In the weeks leading up to the election in Iran, Facebook has been banned. President Ahmadinejad denies calling for the ban.

Asked whether he would order that access to Facebook be reinstated, Ahmadinejad responded that he would "see if there is a complaint" that may be presented to the judiciary.

The semi-official Iranian Labor News Agency reported over the weekend that the Iranian government had blocked Facebook amid political jockeying for the June 12 presidential election.

Reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi -- a former prime minister considered a threat to Ahmadinejad -- has created a Facebook page for his campaign and has more than 5,000 supporters on the site.

Those attempting to visit Facebook were receiving a message in Farsi saying, "Access to this site is not possible," according to CNN personnel in Tehran.

The news agency reported the Masadiq Committee, made up of representatives from Iran's intelligence ministry, judiciary and others, had ordered the action. After a few hours, the block was lifted, but then reinstated later, the agency said. No reason was given.

"We are disappointed to learn of reports that users in Iran may not have access to Facebook, especially at a time when voters are turning to the Internet as a source of information about election candidates and their positions," a Facebook spokesperson said in a written statement. "We are investigating these reports.

"We believe that people around the world should be able to use Facebook to communicate and share information with their friends, family and co-workers. It is always a shame when a countries' cultural and political concerns lead to limits being placed on the opportunity for sharing and expression that the Internet provides."

UPDATE, 5/26: Iran has reportedly restored access.

Roxana Saberi Released

Iran has released Roxana Saberi, an American journalist who was jailed in Tehran for espionage. (A previous post here.)

Marc Ambinder on what this might mean for US-Iran relations.

2 More Child Offenders to Be Executed in Iran Tomorrow

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From the AIUSA Blog:

Just five days after the execution of child offender Delara Darabi in Iran, the government there is set to kill two more juvenile offenders tomorrow.

This news comes despite widespread international consensus that because of children’s immaturity, impulsiveness, vulnerability and capacity for rehabilitation, their lives should not be written off so permanently – regardless of the severity of the crimes they are convicted.

Amir Khaleqi and Safar Angooti are set to be executed early Wednesday, May 6, at 4 a.m. local time in Evin prison. The scheduling of these executions, just days after killing Delara Darabi, show that the Iranian authorities have total disregard for international law which unequivocally bans the execution of those convicted of crimes committed under the age of 18.

According to their lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaie, Amir Khaleqi killed a man during a fight when he was drunk. Amir does not remember how the incident happened but was so remorseful that he turned himself into the police. He was 16 years old at the time. Amir was eventually convicted, despite the court taking into consideration that he was intoxicated, and a juvenile offender.

Safar Angooti was convicted of murder at age 17. According to the newspaper Etemad, in April 2008, Safar Angooti stabbed a rival suitor who was talking to a girl he liked and was sentenced to death. Safar claimed that he had killed the man but not intentionally. At least 135 other juvenile offenders are also known to be on death row in Iran.

Amnesty members are launching worldwide activities tomorrow in front of Iranian embassies hoping the publicity will stop tomorrow’s possible execution of Amir Khaleqi and Safar Angooti. You can take action right now by sending a message to Iranian authorities demanding an end to the executions of child offenders in Iran.

A post on the execution of Delara Darabi is here.

Increased Pressure on Iran to Release Roxana Saberi

Calls for the release of Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi increase on World Press Freedom Day.

"Today is World Press Freedom Day. It is a day where we celebrate the right to be informed, where we pay tribute to those courageous reporters who are taking risks to get information. The Iranian authorities are having here the perfect opportunity to do a gesture of goodwill and let her go," [Lucie] Morillon [of Reporters Without Borders] said. "She has done nothing wrong. They know it very well . These are trumped-up charges being held against her. They should let her go. It is not going to bring them anything to have someone like Roxana spending time in jail."

A previous post.

Iran Executes Woman Convicted as Minor

Human rights groups today condemned Iran for executing a 23-year-old woman who they maintained received an unfair trial when she was convicted of murder as a juvenile.

Delara Darabi was hanged Friday at Rasht Central Prison, according to Human Rights Watch, which said the woman was 17 when she was coerced into pleading guilty to killing her father's cousin. She later recanted, saying her 19-year-old boyfriend had committed the crime.

"It appears that Iran's head of judiciary has no ability to control even his own judges," said Zama Coursen-Neff, deputy director of the children's rights division at Human Rights Watch. "This is an outrageous violation of Iranian as well as international human rights law, and a callous affront to basic human dignity."

Amnesty International said it was "outraged at the execution of Delara Darabi, and particularly at the news that her lawyer was not informed about the execution, despite the legal requirement that he should receive 48 hours' notice," according to Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy director of the group's Middle East and North Africa program. "This appears to have been a cynical move on the part of the authorities to avoid domestic and international protests which might have saved Delara Darabi's life."

Background on Delara Darabi is available here.

Roxana Saberi on Hunger Strike

Secretary Clinton calls for the release of the jailed Iranian-American journalist.