“Until Friday we had 80 percent dictatorship and 20 percent democracy, and since Friday we have 100 percent dictatorship.”
--Samira Makhmalbaf, Iranian filmmaker
Recent Posts
Sunday, June 21, 2009
The Iran Ratio
Deep Packet Inspection Technology: Sophistication of Iranian Regime's Control of the Internet
Christopher Rhoads writes:
The Iranian regime has developed, with the assistance of European telecommunications companies, one of the world's most sophisticated mechanisms for controlling and censoring the Internet, allowing it to examine the content of individual online communications on a massive scale.
Interviews with technology experts in Iran and outside the country say Iranian efforts at monitoring Internet information go well beyond blocking access to Web sites or severing Internet connections.
Instead, in confronting the political turmoil that has consumed the country this past week, the Iranian government appears to be engaging in a practice often called deep packet inspection, which enables authorities to not only block communication but to monitor it to gather information about individuals, as well as alter it for disinformation purposes, according to these experts.
The monitoring capability was provided, at least in part, by a joint venture of Siemens AG, the German conglomerate, and Nokia Corp., the Finnish cellphone company, in the second half of 2008, Ben Roome, a spokesman for the joint venture, confirmed.
link: Iran's Web Spying Aided By Western Technology - WSJ.com
Iranian Media Co-opts Foreign Support
The Danger of Hijacked Rallies
June 21, 2009
State-run TV in Iran is showing demonstrations in other countries such as the US, however with some serious editing. They are not broadcasting the majority of people standing and shouting in solidarity with people in Iran. Rather, they show images of demonstrators who shout, “Death to the Islamic Republic,” while they hold pre-1979 flags of Iran which have come to symbolize the monarchy. Even worse than the monarchists, they show rallies organized by the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran now known as the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI,MKO, MEK, or PMOI)which is on the State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations as they have attacked numerous Iranian embassies around the world.
State run TV goes on to make statements along the lines of, “These are the organizations which are supporter the ‘rioters’ and ‘terrorists’ that fill the streets of Tehran.” As a contact in Iran said,
The only concern that we have now is the bloody Rajavis (MEK), who now want to benefit from the situation. They are definitely helping the dictators. They are only giving more reasons for cracking down the people. May God protect us all.
link: niacINsight
Mousavi: "Objecting to lies and cheating is your right"
In the name of God, the compassionate and merciful, We are all from God, and one day we will return to Him [A Koranic quote, that signify readiness for death]
The heart-wrenching news of martyrdom of a group of protestors, against widespread cheating in recent elections, has cast a pall of silence and sadness over our society. Opening fire on people, militarizing the city, spreading fear, provoking [the public] and power displays are all illegitimate children of the unlawfulness which we face and it is bewildering that the perpetrators of these acts accuse others of this.
To those who call people lawless, for expressing their opinions, I say that the biggest act of lawlessness is indifference [to the public] and contravention of the explicit [text] of article 27 of the constitution [allowing public demonstrations] by the government in not issuing permits for peaceful gatherings. Do revolutionary people who, with gatherings like these, brought you and us out of the dark history of Shah's tyranny must be beaten and wounded and be threatened with force?
I, as a mourner, invite the people to self-restraint. The country belongs to you. The revolution and the government are your inheritances. Objecting to lies and cheating is your right.
Be hopeful in exercising your rights and do not allow those, who try to instill fear in you to dissuade you, to make you angry. Continue to avoid violence in your protests and treat the disproportionate actions of the security forces as broken hearted parents would their children.
Having said that, I expect that security forces will not allow memories of these days to cause irreparable harm in their relationship with the people. That they [security forces] are not informing the families of the martyred, the wounded, and the arrested, and are keeping them hidden and in limbo will not aid in restoration of peace and will antagonize [people's] emotions. Arbitrary arrests lead to loss of respect and authority of security forces in the mind of the people and the society. I ask the Almighty to be compassionate towards these martyrs and to give them the highest of honors, and for their stricken families I wish patience and fulfillment of their dreams.
Mir Hossein Moussavi
link: The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan
The Purloined Blog: Hide it in Plain Sight
Noam Cohen writes:
There are practical benefits to the mainstreaming of political protest online. It presents another barrier to censorship.
Mr. Zuckerman said there had been discussion about having a dedicated human rights site — “and we realized that it will be the most attacked site in the world,” he said.
“The response,” he said, “is to say let’s go in the other direction — encourage anyone that has a human rights site to mirror it everywhere, including sites like Blogspot.com with lots of noncontroversial sites. It is kind of hard for Iran to block Blogger.com well, not that it is hard, but it is complicated. They would have close down a lot of blogs, including blogs with cute cats.”
Beyond the practical benefits, there is something satisfying about a country being assisted by ordinary bloggers who suddenly show their skills in organizing and belief in basic political principles. It harks back to heroes like the Roman leader Cincinnatus, a farmer who had to be persuaded to lead the republic in a time of need and after succeeding quickly returned to the farm. Any functioning society needs professional politicians, just as any modern society needs political blogs, but it is good to be reminded that leadership and political voices can come from other ranks.
But, Mr. Zuckerman reminded me, “You have to have the sword at home. You don’t want to have to buy a sword at the last minute.”
Interesting in-depth story at link: Link by Link - As Blogs Are Censored, It’s Kittens to the Rescue - NYTimes.com
"Mousavi Will Talk Soon to the Nation"
shovelh81: Soon Mousavi will announce full national strikes, probably starting with Petrochemical - prepare for this #Iranelection RT less than 10 seconds ago from web · Reply · View Tweet
skapol: RT @StopAhmadi: Police forces more or less "waiting" at ppls doorsteps, preventing formation of larger groups #iranelection less than 10 seconds ago from Spaz · Reply · View Tweet
thetilo: @oxfordgirl Do not panic, do not be frightened. Mousavi will talk soon to the nation with action plans. #IranElection #IranElections #gr88 less than 10 seconds ago from web · Reply · View Tweet · Show Conversation
Grushenka2: Tomorrow everybody should get money from bank and go shopping for necessary things with their car lights ON #iranelection less than 10 seconds ago from web · Reply · View Tweet
Rileysscout: RT #iranelection I am in Iran.Please pray for us Iranians are encouraged to use proxies Twitter is blocked Spread the word
link: (43) iranelection - Twitter Search
Full National Strikes: Iran
Gov will respond with electric power cuts - prepare and have gas cylinders at home or gasoline for light/cooking #Iranelection RT less than a minute ago from web
Expect food shortage - transport stoppage - money shortage in bank #Iranelection RT RT RT 2 minutes ago from web
Soon Mousavi will announce full national strikes, probably starting with Petrochemical - prepare for this #Iranelection RT RT RT 3 minutes ago from web
link: persiankiwi (persiankiwi) on Twitter
Iran: CB Radio
If u have CB radio only use when moving - never in fixed location - always off when at base - #Iranelection 1 minute ago from web
if you see helicopter - burn tyres - as much as possible in many location - #Iranelection RT RT RT 2 minutes ago from web
Do everything possible to confuse Gov forces - give false info - block telephone lines #Iranelection RT 3 minutes ago from web
Monday - all day all car lights to stay on to show unity and support for Sea of Green - #Iranelection 13 minutes ago from web
Ppl - if possible buy CB radio for communication between groups - we have these - #Iranelection RT RT RT 17 minutes ago from web
Ppl store medication in your homes - our soldiers will need medicine - #Iranelection RT RT RT 19 minutes ago from web
If there is tear gas - burn cars - smoke protects you from tear gas - #Iranelection RT RT RT 21 minutes ago from web
Tomorrow at 4pm telephone Republican Guard Baseej with false reports all over city #Iranelection RT RT RT 22 minutes ago from web
link: persiankiwi (persiankiwi) on Twitter
Results of Iran Election Scrutiny
1. In two conservative provinces, Mazandaran and Yazd, a turnout of more than 100 percent was recorded.
2. At a provincial level, there is no correlation between the increased turnout and the swing to Ahmadinejad. This challenges the notion that his announced victory was due to the massive participation of a previously silent conservative majority.
3. In a third of all provinces, the official results would require that Ahmadinejad had received not only all former conservative voters, all former centrist voters and all new voters but also up to 44 percent of former reformist voters -- despite a decade of conflict between these two groups.
4. In the 2005 election, as in the elections of 2001 and 1997, conservative candidates -- and Ahmadinejad in particular -- were markedly unpopular in rural areas. That makes it "highly implausible" that the countryside swung substantially toward Ahmadinejad.
"The analysis shows that the scale of the swing to Ahmadinejad would have had to have been extraordinary to achieve the stated result," said professor Ali Ansari, a co-author of the survey who is director of the Institute for Iranian Studies at St. Andrews.
Data from the June 12 election suggests a sudden shift in political support toward Ahmadinejad in rural areas, which had not previously supported him or any other conservative, the survey said.
link: Survey raises questions about Iran vote results - CNN.com
Police Tactics in Iran
Paul Lewis for The Guardian:
Two female protesters who challenged police officers for not displaying their badge numbers were bundled to the ground, arrested and held in prison for four days, according to an official complaint lodged today.
The incident was caught on camera, and footage shows officers standing on the women's feet and applying pressure to their necks immediately after the women attempted to photograph a fellow officer who had refused to give his badge number.
Video clip at the link: Kingsnorth video shows surveillance protesters bundled to ground by police | Environment | guardian.co.uk
More Votes Than Voters: Guardian Council Concurs: But In "Only" 50 Cities
Nico Pitney reports:
6:09 PM ET -- Guardian Council admits: more votes than voters. Another fairly shocking report given that it comes from Iran's state-funded PressTV:
Iran's Guardian Council has admitted that the number of votes collected in 50 cities surpass the number of those eligible to cast ballot in those areas.
The council's Spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei, who was speaking on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) Channel 2 on Sunday, made the remarks in response to complaints filed by Mohsen Rezaei -- a defeated candidate in the June 12 Presidential election.
"Statistics provided by Mohsen Rezaei in which he claims more than 100% of those eligible have cast their ballot in 170 cities are not accurate -- the incident has happened in only 50 cities," Kadkhodaei said.
Message from Mousavi? "The Country Belongs to You"
A statement purportedly from opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi on Sunday called on Iranians to "exercise self control" during protests in Tehran, while still supporting their right to demonstrate against the government and the results of the disputed June 12 presidential election.
"The country belongs to you. The revolution and the system is your heritage," the statement attributed to Moussavi said in a statement posted on his Web site. "Protesting against lies and cheating is your right. Be hopeful about regaining your rights. Do not allow anyone who tries to make you lose hope and frighten you make you lose your temper."
The authenticity of the message could not be verified; it was posted in Farsi and translated by CNN.
link: Riot police out in force in Tehran - CNN.com
Segregated Proms in Georgia
Leonard Doyle writes:
The election of Barack Obama did nothing to change attitudes that go back generations in the small rural towns of Montgomery county, Georgia; the surge of pride black people felt in the election of the first black President was met by frosty silence by whites. The county, which is two thirds white, voted overwhelmingly Republican last November and attitudes have hardened as the months have passed.
Barred from attending the white prom, Kera still stood outside to show moral support for her closest friends, cheering and taking photographs as they arrived and did the "senior walk" into the community hall with their boyfriends or their fathers. Then she left, with her black friends.
Next evening her own white friends encouraged her and took their own pictures as she and her friends dressed in lavishly coloured dresses and rented dress suits for their own event at the same venue.
She was close to tears. "Every (school) class we sat beside each other," she said, ticking off the names of her best white girlfirends, Harley Boone and Cierra Sharpe.
"We love each other. But there's a lot of hidden history here, and while everybody gets along there's always something... If your parents are a certain way nine times out of 10 you're going to think the same way."
link: Segregated high school proms divide Georgia's students - Telegraph
Human Rights Council Under Seige
swissinfo reports:
The latest session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which ended this past week in Geneva, was marked by a series of attempts to weaken the body.
Diplomats and non-governmental organisations have expressed concern over efforts by some states, including Cuba, China and Brazil, to muzzle independent reporting.
An open letter was addressed to the Council on June 11 by 35 organisations including Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW). "We are witnessing an aggressive strategy against the Council's mandate, through personal attacks on the special rapporteurs," said Julie de Rivero, head of HRW in Geneva, explaining the gist of the letter.
Testimony from Iran, by Anonymous
We get a lift to avoid the teargas. Then there is the attack. A woman is beaten. She's hysterical but so is the anti-riot police officer facing her. She shrieks, "Where can I go? You tell me go down the street and you beat me. Then you come up from the other side and beat me again. Where can I go?" In sheer frustration, the officer hits his helmet hard several times with his baton.
A couple of minutes later we get off. Here's a true battleground. This time it is vast. Columns of smoke touch the sky. You can hardly see the asphalt. It's covered with bricks and stones. Here people have the upper hand. The street consists of three lanes, the middle one separated by opaque fences, under construction for the metro. The workers have climbed up the fence and show the V sign. They start throwing stones and timber to the street to supply needed armament.
I tell myself, "Look at the poor, the ones Ahmadinejad speaks of". But the president's name is no longer in fashion. This time the slogans target the leader, something unheard of for three decades.
Two basijis' motorbikes are burning. People have learned how to do it fast. They lie the motor on its side, make a small fire, then spray it to a point where it becomes inextinguishable. We climb up a bridge and watch. People shout from the bridge, "Down with Khamenei". A basiji is caught: he soon disappears under the crowd beating him. As if in a Roman coliseum, those on the bridge shout, "Beat him up!" I shout with them before coming to my senses. What is with me? He staggers away as a group of 10 kick and punch him all over.
You can get on any car to go back home. People trust one another now. The woman in the seat next to me says: "It's no longer about Mousavi or election results. We have suffered for 30 years. We didn't live a life." An old man next to her offers me fresh bread. They tell jokes about the political figures and laugh out loud. They feel victorious.
But this morning I was so depressed. Some friends came around, but there has been no announcement about any protest. There were rumours it would be in Hafteh-Tir square, but a friend has called to say there's nothing going on there. On Saturday there was a sense of victory – many people were happy expressing what they couldn't express for 30 years. But today there wasn't any. It's bewildering. There is disappointment at Mousavi's latest statement. For me, I wouldn't die for someone like Mousavi. But if there's greater change at stake, then it's worth it.
Mousavi Declared a Criminal
The Washington Post reports:
Iranian government media Sunday launched a campaign against Mir Hussein Mousavi and his supporters, calling the leader of the protests over Iran's disputed election a "criminal" and comparing demonstrators to members of a hated terrorist group.
link: Iranian Government Media Declares Mousavi a 'Criminal' - washingtonpost.com
Assembly Considering Changes in Iranian Governance?
Al Arabiya* writes:
The influential Rafsanjani, 57, heads two very powerful groups. The most important one is the Assembly of Experts, made up of senior clerics who can elect and dismiss the supreme leader. The second is the Expediency Council, a body that arbitrates disputes between parliament and the unelected Guardian Council, which can block legislation.
Members of the assembly are reportedly considering forming a collective ruling body and scrapping the model of Ayatollah Khomeini as a way out of the civil crisis that has engulfed Tehran in a series of protests.
The discussions have taken place in a series of secret meetings convened in the holy city of Qom and included Jawad al-Shahristani, the supreme representative of Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who is the foremost Shiite leader in Iraq.
An option being considered is the resignation of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as Iran's president following condemnation by the United States and other European nations for violence and human rights violations against unarmed protestors.
link: Middle East News | Iranian clerics seek supreme leader alternative
[*Andrew Sullivan cautions that Al Arabiya is not always a reliable news source.]
Press Crackdown in Iran
Rogene Fisher writes:
Update | 1:50 p.m. The number of reporters arrested since the June 12 election has risen to at least 24. The Lede has learned that Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari was arrested without charge on Sunday morning in Tehran, and has not been heard from since. Mr. Bahari, a Canadian citizen, has been living in and covering Iran for the past decade. Her most recent article for Newsweek examined opposition supporters’ concerns that pro-Ahmadinejad groups were staging violent incidents at their rallies to undermine support for their movement.
link: Sunday: Updates on Iran’s Turmoil - The Lede Blog - NYTimes.com
On the Basij
Jon Lee Anderson writes:
In the mass demonstrations that have taken place this week, the modus operandi of the Basijis has been brutal and predatory. They have used the same tactics as packs of African wild dogs worrying a herd of wildebeest. They choose their targets at the edges of the crowds, going for the vulnerable and unwary stragglers, and moving in as a group to reduce them with violence. Last Monday, the men who fired guns at demonstrators from the rooftops of buildings were almost certainly Basijis. They killed seven demonstrators at their leisure, and it also seems likely that they hoped this display of lethal intent would so intimidate the protesters that they would give up and go home. Clearly, that did not work, and it is probable that they were ordered to tone down such public displays of violence, at least for the time being. But they have continued to attack surreptitiously and in terrifying ways, jumping demonstrators as they return home on darkened streets at night. On Wednesday, there were reports that men who appeared to be Basijis had come onto theTehran University campus and had stabbed students with knives.
[This excellent article explains a great deal about the "culture" of the Basij; I recommend following the link and reading it entire. --TRH]
link: Jon Lee Anderson: Understanding The Basij: News Desk: Online Only: The New Yorker
"To All Iranians Who Voted for Ahmadinejad"
niacINsight reports:
11:47 am: A reader, Hooman, passed on this letter, which he translated:
To All Iranians Who Voted for Ahmadinejad
I don’t know how many of you who read my blog voted for Ahmadinejad. I know three of you who did. Do you know why I have never asked? Because elections mean just this — you vote for Ahmadinejad, I vote for Mousavi, and someone even votes for Googoosh [a famous Iranian singer].
So, we all are worthy of respect. Last week, a large number of our countrymen developed some doubts about the results of the election. Simply doubts. They took to the streets and asked that the election be re-done. Today, they are being killed. As long as it was only their protest, you had no responsibility for the situation. You had cast your own vote. But today, it is your right too that is being squandered. Through these killings, your precious vote is being questioned as well. Today, it is your turn to ask for new elections. You know that with a margin of 10 million votes, you will always end up victorious. So let the doubts be put to rest. Let us not allow anyone to die.
I have not stopped shedding tears today. It is not important to me who the dead that I see before me are — whether or not they think like me. I only know that they are my countrymen. My countrymen and yours. A countryman is very dear. Believe me. I swear that if Mousavi had won, and you were in the streets today, and someone was forcing blood from your nose, I would have taken to the street. I swear to my loved ones that I would have come.
I don’t vote so that blood may fall from anyone’s nose. I respect the development of my nation. The sound of your cries of pain in our mother-tongue would destroy something deep inside me, such that the wounds would never heal. If you read my blog, go. In these thirty years, this is the first time that such doubts have been raised. And these doubts destroy your rights too.
I feel that today it is no longer important who you or I voted for. We didn’t vote for these events. We didn’t vote for killings. If a new election can calm our nation — avoid the loss of the forty lives we are losing every day — keep our votes alive — then why not? I refuse to believe that 24 million of my countrymen have no problem with the killing of the rest of the country. I know that you too are crying. You too cannot even open your eyes. You too did not vote for death. Please come. I am afraid.
link: niacINsight
Greenland Moves Toward Independence
The Arctic territory of Greenland has begun a new era of self-rule after 300 years under Danish authority, moving closer to independence with a potential oil bonanza below its icecap.
The new status took effect as Greenland celebrated its national day, six months after 75 per cent of voters approved a referendum to hand more power to the local government and take control of the island's vast natural resources. Festivities began with a flag-raising ceremony, while Denmark's Queen Margrethe and its prime minister, Lars Loekke Rasmussen, attended the event.
Denmark granted Greenland limited sovereignty when its parliament approved home rule in 1979. But the self-rule status, agreed after years of negotiations, gives the island of 57,000 inhabitants more control over its gas, gold and diamond reserves.
New flag of Greenland
link: Greenland takes step toward independence from Denmark - Telegraph
US Conservative Pundits Criticize Right-Wing Response to Obama's Iran Stance
Since turmoil broke out in Iran over the country’s disputed elections last week, conservatives have been forcefully criticizing President Obama for not doing enough to intervene on the side of those protesting. Their criticism comes despite numerous expert opinions — even from Iranian human rights activists — that the U.S. should not meddle in the situation. This morning on ABC’s This Week, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) continued the attacks. “He’s been timid and passive more than i would like,” he said of Obama. Later on the program though, conservative columnist George Will called such criticism “foolish”:
WILL: The president is being roundly criticized for insufficient, rhetorical support for what’s going on over there. It seems to me foolish criticism. The people on the streets know full well what the American attitude toward the regime is. And they don’t need that reinforced.
In her Wall Street Journal column yesterday, Peggy Noonan, another conservative columnist and former speechwriter for President Reagan, denounced the right-wing attacks, particularly those from Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). “To insist the American president, in the first days of the rebellion, insert the American government into the drama was shortsighted and mischievous,” she wrote, adding that “the ayatollahs were only too eager to demonize the demonstrators as mindless lackeys of the Great Satan Cowboy Uncle Sam, or whatever they call us this week.”
link: Think Progress » Will calls right-wing attacks on Obama’s Iran response ‘foolish criticism.’
Exit BBC
Iranian authorities have asked the BBC's correspondent in Tehran to leave the country within 24 hours.
The BBC said the office would remain open despite the departure of Jon Leyne, the broadcaster's permanent correspondent there.
link: BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran asks BBC reporter to leave
The Whisper Uprising
Nasser Karimi and William J. Kole write:
Amnesty International cautioned that it was "perilously hard" to verify the casualty tolls.
"The climate of fear has cast a shadow over the whole situation," Amnesty's chief Iran researcher, Drewery Dyke, told The Associated Press. "In the 10 years I've been following this country, I've never felt more at sea than I do now. It's just cut off."
On Sunday, the streets of Tehran were eerily quiet.
*
The government has blocked Web sites such as BBC Farsi, Facebook, Twitter and several pro-Mousavi sites used by Iranians to tell the world about protests and violence. Text messaging has not been working in Iran since last week, and cell phone service in Tehran is frequently down.
But that won't stifle the opposition networks, said Sami Al Faraj, president of the Kuwait Center for Strategic Studies.
"They can resort to whispering ... they can do it the old-fashioned way," he said.
link: The Associated Press: Iran raises death toll in clashes to at least 19
Global Solidarity
In his strongest response to Iran's post-election unrest, Mr. Obama said the Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. He called on Iran to "govern through consent, not coercion."
Mr. Obama made his comments Saturday, following reports of violent clashes between Iranian authorities and demonstrators in Tehran.
And, in Jerusalem Sunday, Israeli President Shimon Peres praised Iran's pro-reform demonstrators, saying he hopes for an end to Iran's current government.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the U.S. cities of New York, Washington and Los Angeles Saturday to show support for Iran's opposition groups.
In Germany Saturday, more than a thousand people marched in the streets of Hamburg, and some carried signs reading, "Where is my vote?"
Organizers of a demonstration outside Paris, France, said at least 80,000 gathered for that rally Saturday.
link: VOA News - Obama: Iran Must Stop 'Violent and Unjust Actions'
"In Islam it is Permissible to Lie in a State of War"
Huffington Post writes:
Another shift in state TV: calling protesters terrorists. From a great contact in Iran:
State TV just claimed 10 dead 100 injured. They also called the people in the streets terrorists and repeatedly show a mosque that was set on fire...we're watching it now my cousin says that they turn all the word's of obama around and lie about everything to which my grandfather replies in that in Islam it is permissible to lie in a state of war. They are now show footage of the riots and people that are saying rioters destroyed their livings...I want to reiterate that for 3 or 4 hours I walked through street fighting, I didn't see one broken store window or one car damaged. However I have a feeling the followers of Ahmadinejad will believe the lies said by Seda va Sima. I don't know what to think anymore and I wish I had never watched the video of Neda.
General Strike?
Mousavi - We are (Independently) working on a general Strike Plan. Please help us with your ideas if you have expertise #Iranelection RT RT about 3 hours ago from web
Faeze Hashemi Rafsanjani and family members being held prisoner in military compound - #Iranelection - about 3 hours ago from web
MOUSAVI - We need advice and help to organize a National Strike Plan - if u can help post on his facebook - #Iranelection RT RT RT
link: persiankiwi (persiankiwi) on Twitter
Rafsanjani's Daughter Arrested
TEHRAN: The daughter of Iran's former president Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani and four relatives were arrested over their involvement in protests against alleged election fraud in Iran, the Fars news agency reported on Sunday.
Faezeh Hashemi, a renowned women's rights activist, former parliament deputy and head of women sports in Iran, has in the recent years emerged, like her father, as one of the main opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Ahmadinejad had before the June 12 election accused Rafsanjani and his children of corruption. Fars said that Faezeh, her daughter and three other relatives were arrested during Saturday's demonstrations for 'agitating' the protestors.
link: Rafsanjani's daughter arrested in Iran - Middle East - World - The Times of India
"We are scared of the Basijis too"
The New York Times reports:
Iran’s divisions played out on the streets. Regular security forces stood back and urged protesters to go home to avoid bloodshed, while the feared pro-government militia, the Basij, beat protesters with clubs and, witnesses said, electric prods.
In some places, the protesters pushed back, rushing the militia in teams of hundreds: At least three Basijis were pitched from their motorcycles, which were then set on fire.
The protesters included many women, some of whom berated as “cowards” men who fled the Basijis. There appeared to be tens of thousands of protesters in Tehran, far fewer than the mass demonstrations early last week, most likely because of intimidation.
The street violence appeared to grow more intense as night fell, and there were unconfirmed reports of multiple deaths. A BBC journalist at Enghelab (Revolution) Square reported seeing one person shot by the security forces.
“If they open fire on people and if there is bloodshed, people will get angrier,” said a protester, Ali, 40. “They are out of their minds if they think with bloodshed they can crush the movement. . . ."
The Basij militia completely blocked off Enghelab Square, one major gathering ground for the protesters. They are less accountable than regular security forces and, many witnesses said, were far more violent on Saturday.
“Please go home,” one regular officer told protesters. “We are scared of the Basijis, too.”
One woman who lives off Vali Asr Square, near where the protests took place, said Basijis beat and kicked anyone outside, shouting at them to return to their houses.
“The streets near our house were full of Basijis wearing helmets and holding batons,” she said.
"The Opinion of This Majority Should Be Respected"
11:49 PM ET -- Parliament Speaker: Majority of Iranians think election was fraudulent. And printed in state-run media no less!
Iran's Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani suggests that some of the members in the Guardian Council have sided with a certain candidate in the June 12 presidential election.
Speaking live on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) Channel 2 on Saturday, the speaker said that "a majority of people are of the opinion that the actual election results are different than what was officially announced."
"The opinion of this majority should be respected and a line should be drawn between them and rioters and miscreants," he was quoted as saying by Khabaronline -- a website affiliated with him.
link: Iran Updates (VIDEO): Live-Blogging The Uprising
"Iran is full of rumors"
Mousavi - I call for free elections overseen by a fair national council - not one which has an agenda of its own - #Iranelection RT 7 minutes ago from web
we do not make violence against anyone - all rumors of violence by Sea of Green is false - #Iranelection 35 minutes ago from web
Iran is full of rumors - but the army is NOT on the streets - not against the people - no tanks yet - #Iranelection 39 minutes ago from web
link: persiankiwi (persiankiwi) on Twitter
