Nuklear angereicherte Burleske

Nasser Karimi behauptet bei Associated Press (AP) allen Ernstes, dass der Iran wieder einmal zur Urananreicherung im Ausland bereit sei. Unser Bedarf an humoristischen Einlagen ist aber leider ausgeschöpft.

Wer dieses Bäumchen-wechsel-dich-Spielchen noch nicht begriffen hat, weiß auch heute nicht, wie Hitlers Hinhaltetaktik funktionikert hat, bzw. er ignoriert sie oder heißt sie gut.

Iran says ready to send uranium abroad as UN wants

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran said on Tuesday it was ready to send its uranium abroad for further enrichment as requested by the U.N.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced the decision in an interview with state Iranian television.

He said Iran will have „no problem“ giving the West its low-enriched uranium and taking it back several months later when it is enriched by 20 percent.

The decision could signal a major shift in the Iranian position on the issue.

Still, it was unclear how much of a concession the Ahmadinejad comments represented, even though he appeared to be saying for the first time that Iran was willing to ship out its enriched uranium and wait for it to be returned in the form of fuel for its Tehran research reactor.

Weitere „zuverlässige“ Quellen hier.

Langsam scheint Mahmoud alles egal: jetzt kommt die offene Erpressung

Natürlich sind verschleppte Ausländer nichts als Verhandlungsmasse für die Islamische Republik. Ob Segler oder Wanderer, oder eben eine junge französische Lehrerin, die man an der Passkontrolle abgreift. Wer Bürger eines Staates ist, mit dem der Iran gerade ein Problem hat, sollte sich der iranischen Grenze nicht auf 5 oder besser 50 Kilometer nähern. All diese „Grenzverletzungen“ und absurden Spionagevorwürfe haben nur den einen Zweck: politische Erpressung. Und jeder weiß das natürlich. Die Iranische Republik verhält sich damit bloß als der mafiöse Verbrecherstaat, der sie ist. Ein Umstand, der die Protestnoten und Berufungen auf  „internationale Normen“, die die Islamische Republik, so gerne absondert, immer etwas surreal erscheinen läßt. So absolut normenverachtend sich dieses Regime verhält, so beleidigt ist es ja selbst  in Penetranz.

Und alle wissen das, und alle spielen mit. Aber das ist ein neuer Höhepunkt an Dreistigkeit:

Press TV: President Ahmadinejad said on Friday that Iran was willing to release Clotilde Reiss but that it depended on the „approach and behavior“ adopted by French officials. „Iran is willing to release Clotilde Reiss who has been arrested for taking part in the post-election protests but this depends on the approach and behavior of French officials,“ Fars News Agency quoted him as saying in an interview with AFP.

Endsiege, kurz vor dem Ende

Ein Hauch von originalem Endsieg weht über dem Nahen Osten. Nur was ein Orkan  hätte sein sollen (Mahdi! Erlösung! ihren Führern zujubelnde Massen) offenbart sich als, nun, als ein lautmalerisch langgezogenes Pfffffffff…

Das Englisch der Meldung der Iranian Labour News Agency über das Treffen Mahmouds mit dem Hamaschef Meshal ist ungefähr genauso stark wie der Inhalt. Wahrscheinlich sind alle anderen Übersetzer schon im Exil oder verhaftet.

Ahmadinejad refered to enemies continues failure “Global hatred, defeat in Lebanon and Gaza, failure in reforming US image by Obama administration and failure in Iraq and Afghanistan are defeated aspects of arrogance powers especially US and Zionist Regime.
Referring to Hamas wise stance and Palestinian resistance, President said “ Palestine marks the destiny of the world and victory waits for Muslims.“

Ok, also alles läuft bestens, sie haben eigentlich schon gewonnen. Der Mahdi lugt irgendwie bereits über den Horizont. Nur dumm, daß ihn niemand außer Mahmoud & friends wirklich sehen kann. Wahrscheinlich ein amerikanischer Tarnkappentrick.

Noch größer ist nur der Jubelwert der Press TV Meldung über den neuesten Sermon des Revolutionsführers:

„The geometry of this establishment is divine, its basis was established by a divine man and its survival relies on a divine nation,“ the Leader said. „Its enemy will not achieve its goals.“

Mr. Obama, entweder ICH oder ISRAIL!

Ahmadinejad tells US: ditch Israel and fulfil your promises

Gurardian — Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, effectively spurned Barack Obama’s offer of renewed ties between Washington and Tehran last night by making it conditional on the US abandoning support for Israel. He told a press conference in Istanbul that Obama had failed to deliver his promise of change in US foreign policy and said he had to choose between Israel and relations with Iran. Ahmadinejad’s comments came hours after Tehran’s prosecutor announced spying charges against three Americans in a move that threatened to plunge US-Iranian relations to a fresh low.

Read more here…

Eine Frau als Gouverneurin macht den Allah zornig: so Großayatollah Lotfollah Safi Golpayghani!

Teheran (AFP) — A top hardline Iranian cleric said on Thursday that „God’s fury“ would be unleashed if Iran appoints women as governors of some provinces, as was raised as a possibility by a minister last week.

„If some people want to change the principles and values of the revolution without considering the views of clerics, they will face the fury of God and of the people,“ Grand Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi Golpayghani said on his website.

Golpayghani was reacting to remarks by interior minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar in the holy city of Qom last week, who when asked whether Iran would appoint women as governors of provinces, replied: „Yes. It is possible.“

Three Iran newspapers closed

Greenslande Blog — Iran’s government-run press supervisory body closed three newspapers yesterday without giving reasons. The ILNA news agency said Farhang Ashdi (Culture of Reconciliation) and Arman (Ideals) were closed, while the official IRNA news agency reported that Tahlil Rooz (Day’s Analysis) was also ordered to be shut.

Iranian media have been subjected to a severe crackdown since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election as president.

Among those arrested is the Canadian-Iranian journalist Maziar Bahari, a reporter with Newsweek. On Sunday, he was allowed to have a phone conversation with his pregnant wife, Paola Gourley, a British citizen. Her baby is due in three weeks‘ time.

Source: CBC

Ahmadinejad has no Jewish roots

Rumours that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s family converted to Islam from Judaism are false. In fact, they are proud Shias

Guardian.co.uk, Meir Javedanfar — In June 2005, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s meteoric rise from mayor of Tehran to president of one of the most influential countries in the Middle East took everyone by surprise. One of the main reasons for the astonishment was that so little was known about him.

One recently published claim about his background comes from an article in the Daily Telegraph. Entitled „Mahmoud Ahmadinejad revealed to have Jewish past„, it claims that his family converted to Islam after his birth. The claim is based on a number of arguments, a key one being that his previous surname was Sabourjian which „derives from weaver of the sabour, the name for the Jewish tallit shawl in Persia“.

More here…

Erst mal sehen, dann glauben!

Deutsche Politiker wollen Irans Präsident Mahmud Ahmadinedjad in den Haag vor Gericht… Wenn das erst in die Tat umgesetzt wird, dann kann ich das glauben, daß sie damit ernst meinen!

BERLIN (JTA) 27.09.09 — Most German politicians have agreed that the president of Iran should face the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

On the eve of Sunday’s national elections in Germany, members of all the main political parties responded to a questionnaire on the fight against anti-Semitism and policy on Iran, submitted last week by the Coordinating Council of German Non-Governmental Organizations Against Anti-Semitism and the German-Israeli Society Berlin-Potsdam.

Several respondents agreed that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad should be brought before the International Court.

The organizations released the first results of the questionnaire last Thursday. All major parties issued formal statements, and 22 individual legislators responded personally.

Chancellor Angela Merkel wrote to the Coordinating Council on Sept. 22 thanking them „for their important work in fighting Anti-Semitism“ and noting that her party, the Christian Democratic Union, intended to remain vigilant against „all forms of anti-Semitism, particularly new forms of anti-Israeli anti-Semitism,“ according to a statement released by the council.

Both the CDU and its partner in the current governing coalition, the Social Democratic Party, said they favored harsher sanctions against Iran and its leadership.

Two thirds of the respondents overall said they favored tougher sanctions; one third were undecided – in particular, members of the Green Party and the Left Party.

Three quarters of respondents favored a ban of Hezbollah activities in Germany and in Europe overall.

Two thirds of all respondents across all parties favored bringing representatives of the Iranian regime before the International Court.

Iran to Switch Reserve Currency from Dollar to Euro

Weblog History Commens — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad orders that his country’s foreign exchange reserves be moved from the dollar to the euro, setting the stage for the Iranian Central Bank to cut its foreign currency reserve interests rates from 12 percent to 5 percent. The estimated rate cut makes it cheaper for the bank to acquire foreign currency. “They have been talking about switching their foreign currency reserve from the dollar to the euro for a while now, but it makes them more dependent on the euro and the European Union,” says Dr. Ali Ansari, director of Scotland’s St. Andrews University Iranian Studies Centre.

Followed Call Addressed to OPEC – Ahmadinejad’s decision comes shortly after he called for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to discard the dollar as the currency standard for oil-related deals. Despite recent declines in dollar value and the fact that most major oil producing countries are outside the US, the dollar remains the prevailing currency for pricing a barrel of oil. The dollar also remains the most frequently used international trade currency.

Possible Motivation – Some analysts believe that exchanging the dollar for the euro may be Iran’s attempt to lessen the effects of US economic sanctions in force since the 1979 Islamic revolution when the US backed the overthrown Shah of Iran, who was replaced by an Islamic republic. US sanctions include prohibiting US involvement with Iran’s petroleum development, as well as prohibiting all trade and investment activities by US citizens around the globe. Sanctions were softened somewhat in 2000, when the US Treasury amended its prohibition edict by allowing US citizens to buy and import carpets and food products like dried fruits, nuts, and caviar produced in Iran. Recent media reports suggest, however, that President Obama is considering an increase in sanctions if Iran persists in its alleged development of nuclear weapons. Iran maintains that its nuclear program is solely for power production.

Antisemitismus und intellektuelle Verkommenheit des Linksgrünalternativen Milieus…

taz, Andreas Zumach — „Die UNO-Generalversammlung hat zu ihrem Beginn Gräben vertieft. Ein kostspieliges Spektakel“

Die ersten Tage der neuen UNO-Generalversammlung waren im besten Fall ein überflüssiges Medienspektakel. Im schlimmeren Fall wurde die Lösung der wichtigsten globalen Probleme und regionalen Konflikte noch zusätzlich erschwert.

US-Präsident Obamas Werben um multilaterale Anstrengungen und seine Absage an eine Führungsrolle der USA klang zwar erfreulich angesichts der schlechten Erfahrungen mit der unilateralen und UNO-feindlichen Politik der Bush-Administration, doch Charisma allein genügt nicht.

Eine konstruktive Führungsrolle der USA wird von vielen UNO-Mitgliedern nämlich durchaus gewünscht. Vor allem bei Konflikten wie jenem im Nahen Osten, wo Washington über die Instrumente für die Herbeiführung einer Lösung verfügt. Und bei globalen Herausforderungen, wo die USA wie bislang beim Klimawandel der größte Teil des Problems sind.

Irans Präsident Ahmadinedschad trat in New York zum wiederholten Mal wie ein Agent des Mossad auf. Mit seinen antiisraelischen Tiraden unterstützte er Premierminister Netanjahus Strategie, unter Verweis auf die „iranische Bedrohung“ vom israelisch-palästinensischen Konflikt abzulenken. Zugleich stärkt Ahmadinedschad die Hardliner in Washington, die Obama eine zu weiche Haltung im Streit über das iranische Atomprogramm vorwerfen. Damit ist die Gefahr größer geworden, dass der Konflikt mit Teheran militärisch eskaliert.

Libyens Staatschef Gaddafi findet mit seiner Forderung der Abschaffung des Vetorechts sowie der Demokratisierung des Sicherheitsrats durchaus mehrheitliche Unterstützung unter den 192 UNO-Staaten. Doch auch seine Unterstützer stieß Gaddafi vor den Kopf mit der Bezeichnung des Rats als „Terrorrat“ und dem Zerreißen der UNO-Charta.

Iran Nuclear Revelation, CNN report, Sept 25 2009

„Wie ein Henker“

Kommentar & Presseerklärung von Christian Zimmermann zum 25.9.2009

(…) Der iranische Präsident hielt vor der ehrwürdigen UN Vollversammlung eine antisemitische, hasserfüllte Hetzrede, die, wie ein CNN-Kommentator bemerkte, „Adolf Hitler hätte halten können“

„Präsident“ Mahmud Ahmadinedschad hat mit dieser  aggressiven und teilweise deliranten Rede gezeigt, dass er weiter entschlossen ist , die  Bühne der Vereinten Nationen zu nutzen, um gegen die tragenden Staaten des Westens zu polemisieren und eine antiamerikanische und antiisraelische Front zu schmieden. Ahmadinedschad hat wirkungsvoll bewiesen, dass er eine Gefahr für die Welt war und ist. Da helfen nur noch schärfste Sanktionen und internationale Strafverfolgung.

Aus der Konvention zur Verhinderung und Bestrafung von Völkermord Resolution 260 A (III) vom 9.12.1948

Artikel I: Die Vertragschließenden Parteien bestätigen, dass Völkermord, ob im Frieden oder im Krieg Begangen wird, ein Verbrechen gemäß internationalem Recht ist, zu Verhütung und Bestrafung sie sich verpflichten.

Artikel III: Die folgenden Handlungen sind zu bestrafen:

(a) Völkermord,

(b) Verschwörung zur Begehung von Völkermord,

(c) unmittelbare und öffentliche Anreizung Begehung von Völkermord,

(d) Versuch, Völkermord zu begehen,

(e) Teilnahme am Völkermord.

Ch. Z. „Büro für Menschenrechte und Minderheiten Angelegenheiten, Berlin“

Another Circus at the UN!

Irans Präsident Ahmadinejad diskutiert “wissenschaftlich!“ und „akademisch!” über Holocaust!!!

CBSNEWS, September 23, 2009 4:00 PM — In part two of an exclusive interview with Katie Couric, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks about Iranian protests and his comments regarding the Holocaust.

CNN: 192 People left, Ahmadinejad talked to empty chairs

Wer hat den Friedensstifter der Weltgeschichte bei der UN-Vollversammlung im Stich gelassen?

Vertreter von 12 Ländern: USA, Frankreich, Großbritannien, Italien, Deutschland, Dänemark, Ungarn, Argentinien, Australien, Neuseeland, Uruguay, Costa Rica. Kanada hat schon vor der Rede boykottiert…

Hier die Rede von Ahmadinedjad vor der UN (vorerst auf Persisch)…

Mobile Human Rights Billboards Confront Ahmadinejad in New York

(22 September 2009) As Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrives in New York to address the United Nations General Assembly, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran is circulating mobile billboards protesting recent violence and extensive human rights violations in Iran. The mobile billboards (see pictures below) are circulating in midtown Manhattan, near UN headquarters, to focus the attention of the diplomatic community on the human rights crisis in Iran. The Campaign, together with Human Rights Watch urged the General Assembly to take resolute action by appointing a special envoy.

Mehr darüber mit interessanten Fotos…

Ein Buch der Analyse und Prophezeiung: „Under a Mushroom Cloud: Europe, Iran and the Bomb“ von Emanuele Ottolenghi

Barbara Kelley / WSJ

WSJ, By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL — The dearth of academics, journalists and policy makers focusing on the dangers of European-Iranian economic relations puts Emanuele Ottolenghi in a lonely place—but all the more significant for that.

In „Under a Mushroom Cloud: Europe, Iran and the Bomb,“ Mr. Ottolenghi not only lays out the scope of Iran’s military aims, but reveals Tehran’s codependence with European industry and provides concrete prescriptions for how continental leaders can stop Iran from developing a nuclear bomb.

To appreciate the depth of Mr. Ottolenghi’s analysis, consider that he wrote his book before the June 12 Iranian election and the turbulence that followed.

He correctly identifies Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the „last word“ in Iran, and captures what should now be common knowledge: that „a country that treats its citizens brutally and threatens its neighbors cannot be trusted with nuclear weapons.“

But even in the wake of Mr. Khamenei’s bloody crackdown, European trade with Iran is a topic one dares not broach in Rome or Berlin when discussing how to bring Iran to its knees.

Iran’s Quds Day rallies a shout against Zionist „cancer“: Khamenei

TEHRAN, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) — Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in his Eid al-Fitr sermon on Sunday that the high turnout of Quds Day rallies in Iran were „a loud and clear shout against the cancer of Zionism.“

Millions of Iranians took to the streets on Friday in different cities to mark the annual anti-Israel Quds Day march in solidarity with Palestinians.

Khamenei said the Quds Day rallies proved once again that the Islamic world does not accept tyranny and the West has failed to undermine Muslims‘ unity, Iran’s English-language satellite channel Press TV reported.

The massive rallies were indicative of the fact that those „conspiracies of the arrogant powers“ to weaken the Quds Day among Muslims in recent years were „futile,“ Khamenei said on the occasion of the Eid al-Fitr, a Muslim holiday that marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

On Friday’s rallies, a statement was issued in support of Palestinians, which said that the Iranians „support Palestinian resistance and Israel must avoid any new adventurism“ in the region.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed a crowd gathered at Tehran University at the end of the rallies, reiterating that the Holocaust was a „myth“ created by the West to support Israel.

„They (the West) created the myth of the Holocaust,“ Ahmadinejad said. „They lied and then support the Jews,“ he added.

—————-
Siehe auch: Tagesanzeiger.

Na, da kann man doch nicht Nein sagen!

80 Political Parties Ask Supreme Leader To Deliver Qods Day Sermon – Protest Movement Leaders Will Participate In Qods Day Ceremonies

Over 80 Iranian political parties have asked Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to deliver the main sermon for Qods (Jerusalem) Day, tomorrow, September 18, instead of Ahmad Khatami and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in order to prevent unrest among the public.

Protest movement leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, Mohammad Khatami, and Hassan Khomeini (the grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini) have announced that they and their supporters will participate in Qods Day ceremonies, as a sign of their opposition to all forms of oppression and violence.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has warned that they will deal harshly with disturbances of the peace.

Sources (via MEMRI): Fararu, Etamaad, Fars, Iran, 17, September 2009; Rouydadnews, Iran, 15. September 2009

Das letzte Iftarmahl*!

Mullah-Retter fressen zusammen und lassen das iranische Volk verhungern…

Dinner with the Secretary: Iran on the menu

Washington Iran experts are invited to dinner with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department tonight.

Among the outside experts invited to dine with the Secretary at the Iran policy dinner, sources say: the Carnegie Endowment’s Karim Sadjadpour, the New America Foundation’s Afshin Molavi, the National Iranian American Council’s Trita Parsi, the Council on Foreign Relations‘ Ray Takeyh, the Woodrow Wilson’s Haleh Esfandiari, Brookings‘ Suzanne Maloney, and George Mason University’s Shaul Bakhash.

„She does these dinners with folks in and out of the building where she solicits views,“ one official explained.

The inside-government attendee list is not clear, but one presumes Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Bill Burns — the U.S. Government point man for international talks on Iran’s nuclear program, his advisor and liaison to the NSC Elisa Catalano, Iran advisor Jillian Burns in the Policy Planning office, Policy Planning chief Anne-Marie Slaughter and deputy Derek Chollet, Iran office head Todd Schwartz, and Holbrooke senior advisor and Shia world expert Vali Nasr are among those welcome to drop by.

The dinner comes before Burns is due to meet Iran’s nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and his Russian, French, German, Chinese, and British counterparts for talks in Turkey October 1.

Clinton heads to New York Monday for ten days at the United Nations, where Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is among the heads of state expected.

* Abendmahl während der Ramadanszeit

Obama Seeks Dialogue with Iran by Selling Boeings

Hossein Barak Obamas Iran- und Islamsversteher: Ausverkauf der Menschenrechte gegen Boeings und Öl und Händeschütteln… Oder ist es ein Kniefall vor Russlands Drohung?

TEHRAN (FNA) – US President Barack Obama has sought to tempt Tehran into negotiations by offering a $2.5 billion deal for selling 20 Boeing passenger planes and plane parts to Iran, a source revealed on Saturday.

„Obama’s messages for delivering these airplanes to Iran were sent after the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as Iran’s president,“ an informed source told FNA on the condition of anonymity.

„The minimum price of these airplanes stands at $75 million and their maximum price is $120 million and their number is estimated at 20,“ the source added.

He reiterated that a number of these planes and aircraft parts are presently being delivered to Iran via Venezuela.

The source said that the money needed for purchasing the planes was supplied from Iran’s blocked assets in the US, and underlined that all the planes have been manufactured in 2009 and are brand-new.

Wahlen als Ersatz für den Bürgerkrieg? Wohlgemerkt bei uns da drüben…

Amir Taheri bearbeitet diese Frage anschaulich und nennt die Gründe dafür:

… Normally, what counts at the end of an election is what the winner proposes to do with his victory. After all, the winner wins control of the resources of the state plus the right to set the national agenda. However, there are circumstances in which what matters is what the loser intends to do with his defeat.

This was the situation we faced in Iran– last June.

Hours after the voting had ended what mattered most was not what President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the officially declared winner, said or did but the attitude of the loser, Mir-Hussein Mousavi.

Mousavi refused to accept his status as loser and used his defeat to anoint himself as the moral winner.

The implicit message was simple: Ahmadinejad may have won physical control of government but it was Mousavi who commanded the true loyalties of a majority of Iranians.

Highway to hell

Für die Standards der Führungsriege des Sozialismus des 21. Jahrhunderts verlief der Staatsbesuch von Hugo bei Machmoud propagandaökonomisch geradezu verhalten. “Iran and Venezuela carry out important missions to help the oppressed and revolutionary nations and to expand the anti-imperialist front in the world,” Ahmadinejad said in a meeting with visiting Venezuelan President Hugo on Saturday. Das ist ein bißchen dünn, da hätte man vom größten Duo seit Dick & Doof eigentlich Markigeres erwarten dürfen – auch wenn die Äußerungen der großen Führer hilfreich für die lebenspraktische Alltagsorientierung der deutschen Restlinken sein mögen.

Worum ging es aber eigentlich? Gut, der Iran kriegt nun Benzin aus Venezuela. Und das ist für beide Seiten teuer. Die 800 Millionen $ sollen dabei im Iran verbleiben, um den Ankauf von iranischer Technologie und Maschinen für Venezuela zu finanzieren. Nun werden die Venezolaner wohl kaum die weltberühmten iranischen Autos kaufen wollen. Wie wäre es mit Wunderwaffen? Die aktuelle für diese Woche hier. Oder, oder, oder. Wie hat Hugo nach der Anunft im Iran nochmal gesagt: Soon they will accuse us of also building an atomic bomb“ in Venezuela.

Und: Chavez also said that Caracas aims to build a ‘nuclear village’ with Iranian assistance in Venezuela.

„Could Obama Rescue Ahmadinejad?“

By Amir Taheri

Sometime before the end of this month, the Obama administration would have to tell the world whether it still regards „unconditional engagement“ with the Islamic Republic in Iran as a realistic option.

Both President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton have repeatedly said that they expect „something“ before the end of September.

The new administration was prepared to wait almost nine months for Tehran to decide what to do with Obama’s „stretched hand“ of friendship.

Initially, Obama and Clinton had pinned their hopes on Iran’s presidential election in June. It would have been nice if the quintessential „troublemaker“, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had lost to Mir-Hussein Mousavi, the man who had sought normalisation with the US back in the 1980s.

Neda Agha Soltan murder witness at risk of torture in Tehran prison

Amnesty International – Caspian Makan, the fiancé of Neda Agha Soltan, a young woman killed in the recent protests in Iran, has been held in detention since 26 June, after he made a statement linking her murder to the pro-government Basij militia.

Currently held in Evin Prison in Tehran, Caspian Makan is reported to have told his family that if he signs a „confession“ saying that the People’s Mojahedeen Organization of Iran (PMOI), a political body banned in Iran since 1981, killed her, then he may be released.

Amnesty International said it fears he may be forced to sign such a „confession“ under torture or other ill-treatment, given the pattern of human rights violations in Iran following the election. The organization said that he may be a prisoner of conscience, held for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression.

Neda Agha Soltan, 27, was killed on 20 June in Tehran. She was shot as she and three companions, including Caspian Makan, were leaving one of many demonstrations that took place following Iran’s disputed presidential election on 12 June. While other demonstrators were trying to help her, a man with a mobile phone camera filmed her dying moments. The video footage was widely circulated on the internet and became a symbol of the unrest that developed in Iran.