Locatioin of the Karroubi House Arrest Moved

While the location of the illegal house arrest of Mehdi Karroubi has moved according to his wife. Full story here:

While expressing hope that the prayers of all people will be answered during this holy month of Ramadan, Fatemeh Karroubi stated: "I would like to first and foremost remind our citizens that Mr. Ahmad Janati, in his capacity as spokesperson for the regime first expressed the need to arrest the leaders of Iran's opposition movement during a Friday Prayer service on February 18th, 2010. At that time, Mr. Janati recommended that the judiciary render the leaders of the sedition [Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi] incommunicado, cutting off all communication with the nation of Iran and the outside world. Mr. Janati recommended that the leaders of the opposition movement be kept under house arrest and their telephone and internet connection disconnected so that they would not be able to issue any statements or receive any messages from the outside world, creating a virtual prison within their homes. Pursuant to Mr. Janati's speech both our building and our son's house were raided and occupied. Mr. Karroubi protested from the very beginning against the illegal occupation of our residential building, warning them repeatedly, demanding that at minimum the family be moved to another building in order to avoid any further disturbance to the other residents, so that other home owners could at least move back in to their homes."

In relation to Mehdi Karroubi's condition Fatemeh Karroubi stated: "From the onset of his house arrest, Mehdi Karroubi has been deprived of all basic prisoner rights such as access to fresh air, visitation rights and access to books and newspapers. These violations of basic prisoner rights have continued to this day and are detrimental to his physical health and well being."

With regards to the transfer of her husband to a new location, Mrs. Karroubi stated: "After much insistence by Mr. Karroubi, they finally transferred him to a small apartment as of the beginning of Ramadan. Given that the security agents have also moved in to his small one bedroom apartment and given the limited space, they have made it virtually impossible for me to move in with my husband. It is worth mentioning that according to earlier discussions [with security officials] they have agreed that Mr. Karroubi would be transferred to his house in Jamaran. However, for reasons unknown to us, security forces refused to even allow him to be transferred to his own home."

Fatemeh Karroubi continued: "I would like to clearly announce that Mr. Karroubi has one home only and this house is located in Jamaran and forcing his family to rent another location does not mean that he is living in his own home."

In conclusion Mrs. Karroubi described her husband's spirits as strong stating: "Although in the past 190 days, security agents have only allowed my husband access to fresh air once in the yard and despite the fact that his last visitation was on the 15th of Shaban [mid July], his spirits remain strong. He has remained steadfast from the very beginning, demanding nothing from the regime and his prison guards. He has remained calm and confident despite having been deprived of all fundamental prisoner rights, enduring all hardship and proud of the stance he has taken in defending our nation's rights. The regime must know that Mr. Karroubi's personal sacrifices began prior to the Islamic Revolution and he will not hesitate to pay any price or endure any hardship in his quest to uphold the rights of the nation of Iran."

Mehdi Karroubi is currently under house arrest in an small apartment, without his wife. It goes without saying that the concerns for his physical well being are increasing with the passing of each day. In the past month, pro government media outlets renowned for spreading rumors and fully aware of the popularity of Mr. Karroubi and Mr. Mousavi amongst the Iranian people have once again engaged in publishing false reports and lies. Despite these false allegations, the Iranian nation is fully aware of the absurd nature of the lies published by media outlets affiliated with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

More on Lake Protests

Here is a good BBC Persian Report



More footage of protests

Protests over Lake Urmia

Protesters have been rising up in the Azeri parts of Iran over the deteriorating environmental conditions at Lake Urmi. Clip of protests above and here is a report of the regime clamping down:

Iran's Intelligence Ministry has detained over 30 ethnic Azeris in recent days over environmental protests, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports.

The activists in Tabriz were protesting the Iranian government's failure to take measures to save Lake Urmia, a salt lake situated between Iran's East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan provinces that is drying up.

Members of the activists' families told RFE/RL that over 30 people were detained on August 24 during an iftar evening meal when Muslims observing Ramadan break their fast.

On August 25, several more activists were detained before and after a soccer match in Tabriz between the Azerbaijani Trakhtorsazi team and local team Shahrdari Tabriz. Thousands of Azerbaijani fans chanted "Lake Urmia is dying, the Majlis orders its execution" during the match.

Several more activists were reportedly detained in Ardabil and other cities.

Iran's parliament recently voted against allocating funds to channel water from the Araz River to raise the level of the lake. Instead, they proposed relocating Azerbaijanis living around Lake Urmia.

Turan Kheyri, the wife of detained activist Mustafa Avazpur, told RFE/RL that he has been detained twice before for demanding the protection of Azeri rights. She says Avazpur was released from jail last year.

Asgar Sadiqi, the brother of detained activist Abdullah Sadiqi said Abdullah telephoned them to say he was being held at an Intelligence Ministry facility in Tabriz. He said the ministry did not inform the family why Abdullah was arrested.

Vahid Qaradagli, an Azeri human rights activist in Iran, told RFE/RL on August that Azeri activists are enraged at the Iranian government's failure to take measures to prevent Lake Urmia from drying up.

"The activists were planning more protests on August 27, and the government is arresting activists to avert the wave of protests," he said

Qaradagli says the government has built a fence around the lake, but no steps have been taken to preserve it. He says if the lake dries up, some 10 million tons of salt will remain which will damage the environment and may cause illness among people living in the vicinity.

Where is Kouhyar Goudarzi?

The regime has arrested him without telling anyone what happened to him. Full story here:

Human rights groups have expressed concern over the fate of Kouhyar Goudarzi, a prominent Iranian activist who was arrested last month by plainclothes security forces.

Goudarzi, 25, an active member of the Committee for Human Rights Reporters (CHRR) in Iran, was picked up from a friend's house in Tehran on 31 July, but authorities have so far refused to acknowledge they are holding him.

Neighbours said Goudarzi was taken away with two of his friends by people believed to be from Iran's ministry of intelligence. His whereabouts are unknown but speculation is rife that he has been taken to Evin prison.

A day after Gourdarzi's arrest his mother, Parvin Mokhtareh, was detained in the southern city of Kerman. She has been accused of insulting the supreme leader, propaganda against the regime and acting against the national security. Amnesty said the charges stemmed from an "interview she gave when her son was imprisoned in 2010 in relation to his peaceful human rights activities".

Goudarzi's lawyer, Mina Jafari told the opposition website Roozonline: "We are very worried for Kouhyar's physical and mental health. Our only source of information about Kouhyar was through his mother, who herself got arrested … Now, we have no information about Kouhar, nor his mother. Whatever happens to him, those who arrested him should be held responsible."

Amnesty called for Iran to allow Goudarzi to have access to his lawyer and family. "Kouhyar Goudarzi's arrest is cause enough for concern, let alone his effective 'disappearance'. He has been denied contact with the outside world and this puts him at real risk of torture or ill-treatment," said Amnesty's UK media director Mike Blakemore.

"The Iranian authorities should immediately reveal where Kouhyar Goudarzi is being held and allow his family and lawyer to visit him. If he is being held solely because of his peaceful human rights activities then we would consider him a prisoner of conscience who should be released immediately and unconditionally."

Goudarzi was previously arrested in the aftermath of Iran's disputed presidential elections in 2009. He was initially accused of moharebeh (waging war against God), which carries a death sentence, but was convicted of "spreading propaganda against the regime" and sentenced to a year in prison. While there, Goudarzi won the National Press Club award for his human rights activities. He was released from prison in December last year.

More Than a Boycott

I suggested in this post that there must be a boycott of next year Majlis elections. But there should be more than simple inaction to respond to the illegitimacy of the Islamic Republic. As I talked about a few weeks ago, Iranians must organize almost a parallel government alongside the current regime. In Libya, with see the National Transitional Council gain cohesion and international recognition to help the Libyan people get rid of their dictator.

While creating a similar institution in Iran would obviously come with challenges like creating a united front and dealing with the suppression of the government, it would also have great opportunities to bring about positive change. If there is a complete boycott of state elections and then putting energy into to creating a separate governing entity, then a vision for a new Iran can begin.

The organization of this new government will certainly be a challenge. It could be organized online among residents of cities across Iran or an external group of exiles who represent the Iranian community to the International community. The point is the Islamic Republic regime does not represent me as an Iranian citizen and we should create an alternative that does.

Martyr Sohrabi Arabi's Mother Blasts Larijani

Ghadaffi Falls

The moment the regime collapased as Freedom Figthers  enter Martyr Squard (formally Green Square) in Tripoli. Khamenei should pay close attention because he is next along with his friend Assad.

Boycott Next Year's Majlis Elections

There has been much discussion among reformist circles whether there should be a totally boycott and non-participation in next year's Majlis Elections. It seems the prevailing view is that unless many reasonable demands such as the release of political prisoners is not met, then there should be a boycott. Since I believe it is clear these demands will not be met, I say that starting today there should be a boycott organized of the elections.

The fact that the June 2009 presidential election was competely fradulant means that we have no confidence in the electoral system. In the past, the Guardian Council had limited the choice of candidates, but the counting of the votes seemed to be pretty straightfoward. With this reality changed in the last election, why participate in something that we know will very well could be rigged.

Some may suggest that a boycott will hand a victory to the hardliners and allow them to continue to control the Majlis, but this would happen anyways given the vote rigging. There are some reformists in the current Majlis, but they do little and give a sense of legitimicy in the current regime. These members would be better served to work outside of the regime in order to bring change.

I have in the past been for participating in elections in the Islamic Republic because I thought they might do some good. The experience of the past 2 years has thought me that the regime has entered into a new phase and we too must enter into a new phase of opposition. Our energy should not be focused on fradulent elections, but rather on bringing radical change from outside the regime like the other revolutionary movements in the Middle East.

Yet going beyond this boycott, I think there should be the beginning of a parallel government set up and even elections set up through social media that I will expand upon in an upcoming post.

Regime Hypocrite Target UK Police

Faced with riots, the police in the UK have been rather reserved to the point that many citizens have asked them to be more forceful when dealing with the chaos. While the underlying reasons for these riots might be legitimate such as poverty and lack of opportunity, it is clear that the manifestation is not peaceful protests but rather random violence against mainly private property and fellow citizens.

Yet the regime takes this opportunity to ask the UK police to act with restraint against the rioters. This is the same regime who massacred peaceful demonstrators who wanted nothing more than simple reform and accountable government. It is the same regime that is supporting the murder of thousands of people by the equally repressive regime of Syria. The hypocrisy of the Isalmic Republic knows no limits.

Full story here:

Iran has called on the British government to "restrain" the police and stop the "violent treatment" of rioters.

 The foreign ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, said dialogue would calm the situation, and urged the UK to respond to the demands of the "protesters". He also asked human rights organisations to investigate the death of Mark Duggan, which led to the riots.

 As diplomatic tension continues between the two countries, officials in Tehran seized on the unrest as an opportunity to repay the British government for its criticism of human rights violations in Iran.
 Human rights groups say dozens of activists were killed and thousands detained after Iran's disputed presidential elections in 2009, and there are widespread allegations of torture and rape inside the country's prisons.

 This year Tehran was infuriated by British support for the appointment of a UN special rapporteur to investigate abuses.

 A prominent conservative MP said Iran was ready to dispatch a group of experts to investigate "human rights violations" in the UK.

 Hossein Ebrahimi, the deputy head of the parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, said Britain should facilitate the visit "without making false excuses", according to the English-language state-run Press TV.

 "Ebrahimi said that the group of rapporteurs intend to interview political detainees and to give a report to international bodies on the treatment received by the protesters," the report said.
 Iranian media sympathetic to the regime have portrayed the recent rioting and looting across London and other cities as social unrest fuelled by living conditions and police mistreatment of the poor.

 Iranian MPs condemned what they described as police violence . "An Iranian majlis [parliament] national security and foreign policy subcommittee has urged the UK to immediately stop violent treatment of people protesting the killing of a black man," Press TV reported on Tuesday.

 According to Press TV, Mohammad Karim Abedi, the vice-chairman of the parliamentary committee "urged London to order the police to stop treating protesters violently".

 Iran's semi-official Fars news agency, which is affiliated to the elite revolutionary guards, has given extensive coverage to the rioting and looting across Britain. "We advise the monarchical regime of Britain to respect the rights of its people by avoiding savage behaviour," Fars quoted Seyed Hossein Naqavi, an Iranian MP of the parliamentary human rights committee, as saying.

According to Fars, Naqavi said: "The British people have come to the streets to protest at the security forces' deliberate gunfire at Duggan."

 Press TV said Naqavi had also condemned what he called the UK's "double standards towards human rights".

 Iranian opposition and reformist newspapers have distanced themselves from the official reaction to the UK riots.

Karroubi Letter From House Arrest

Mehdi Karroubi's son releases a letter sent by his father under house arrest:

For the past six months I have been deprived of seeing my father if only for a few minutes. During the holy month of Ramadan, I found myself reminiscing about my father, a father who much like Mir Hossein Mousavi and all other political prisoners is enduring the hatred and hostility of security agents. I am hopeful that during this holy month, political prisoners such as Ahmad Zeidabadi, Mohammad Davari, Adollah Momeni, Isa Saharkhiz, Bahareh Hedayat and so many other anonymous prisoners who have been unjustly oppressed are finally released from prison so that the perpetrators of this injustice can repent during this holy month, asking for mercy and forgiveness from God and once again embrace rationality and humanity.

The following is a letter I received from my father a few months ago when the pro-government media outlets were spreading false rumors that I had left Iran and had taken refuge in a safe country. My father was misinformed by the security agents and as a result of his concern that the ruling powers were creating an atmosphere of fear and abuse, wrote me a letter expressing his concerns. The content of the letter is as follows:
In the name of God,

To my dear and beloved son Hossein Karroubi,

I ask God for the health and well being of your honorable family and your beloved children zahra and Ahmad. May God keep you safe and protect you of all dangers. You can be certain that these difficult and challenges days will eventually come to an end and what will remain is the ugliness and embarrassment of the authorities who oppress and unlawfully violate people's rights.

Have trust in God and take care of your family and your children. When it comes to visiting with me your father, do as you deem appropriate, but please refrain from leaving the country for it is not in your interest and will undoubtedly lead to irreversible remorse and regret.

Mehdi Karroubi

نزدیک به شش ماه است که هنوز موفق به دیدار پدرم نشده ام تا وی را حتی برای دقایقی ببینم. خواستم تا در آستانه این ماه رمضان از پدرم یادی کرده باشم . پدری که مانند مهندس موسوی و همه زندانیان سیاسی دچار کینه و عداوت ماموران امنیتی قرار گرفته اند. امیدوارم در این ماه، زندانیان سیاسی همچون احمد زیدآبادی، محمد داوری، عبدالله مومنی، عیسی سحرخیز و بهاره هدایت و بسیاری دیگر از زندانیان و نیز گمنامان در بند که به ناحق دچار ظلم ظالمین شده اند هرچه زودتر آزاد شده و مسببان این ظلم در این ماه رحمت و توبه از درگاه خداوند طلب بخشش کنند و به عقلانیت و انسانیت بازگردند.ا

این متن نامه ای است که پدرم چند ماه قبل برای من نوشته بودند. متاسفانه در آن ایام، رسانه های جریان حاکم با شایعه پراکنی، خبر خروج من از کشور و پناهنده شدن در کشوری امن را منتشر کرده بودند. این خبرها توسط ماموران به گوش پدرم رسیده بود و ایشان چون نگران جو سازی و سوء استفاده جریان حاکم بودند، طی نامه ای به من در این خصوص ابراز نگرانی خود را اعلام کردند.ا
بسمه تعالی
فرزند عزیز و نور چشمم حسین کروبی

سلامتی شما و خانواده محترم و فرزندان عزیز زهرا خانوم و احمد جان را از خداوند منان خواستارم. انشاله از همه خطرها مصون و محفوظ باشید. یقین داشته باشید این دوران سخت و دشوار پایان خواهد یافت. زشتی و شرمندگی می ماند برای افراد و مسئولینی که ظلم می کنند و بر خلاف قانون و شرع حقوق مردم را پایمال می نمایند. با توکل به خداوند بزرگ در کنار خانواده و فرزندان باشید و در خصوص ملاقات با پدر، هرگونه صلاح می دانید عمل نمایید و از مسافرت به خارج از کشور حتما پرهیز نمایید زیرا مصلحت نیست و مطمئن باشید ندامت و پشیمانی جبران ناپذیری دارد.ا
مهدی کروبی

Let Them Eat Gold Ice Cream

Welcome to today's Islamic Republic of Iran where inequality is the norm. Gone is the goals of the revolution to create a just and fair society. Now those with powerful connections get to eat gold ice cream while everyone else gets what the rich don't want. Full story here:

Gold-flecked ice cream wasn’t part of the picture that Shiite Muslim clerics painted during the Iranian Revolution, when they promised to lift the poor by distributing the country’s vast oil income equally across society.

But more than three decades later, record oil profits have brought in billions, and some people here are enjoying that decadent dessert. The trouble is, it’s just a small group of wealthy Iranians. Despite the promises of the revolution, many here say the gap between rich and poor has never seemed bigger.

Iran’s new wealthy class has succeeded in tapping the opportunities provided by a vast domestic market, sometimes aided by corruption and erratic government policies. It includes children of people with close connections to some of Iran’s rulers, as well as families of factory owners and those who managed to get huge loans from state banks at low interest rates. The trickling down of the oil windfall — nearly $500 billion over the past five years — has also played a central role in establishing this small group that is visibly enjoying its profits.

Both supporters and critics of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad say some of his economic policies designed to counter inequality are actually making things worse for many. And although some statistics show the gap between the Islamic Republic’s rich and poor has been stable over time, scenes of the rich flaunting their wealth have left many Iranians complaining.

The new wealthy are buying Porsches, getting caviar delivered to late-night parties, and eating $250 ice creams covered in edible gold at what’s billed as the highest rotating restaurant in the world.

Remember What We Are Working Against

A new interview with Ahmadinejad in which he completely ignores questions about the imprisonment of Mousavi and Karroubi.

An Iranian Spring?

7 Reasons from an acquaintance of my why there has not been an Iranian Spring. Read the whole article for an in depth explanation of each. My thoughts are here and feel free to put your own down in the comments section.

1. Iranians rose up in 2009
2. Fear of revolutions
3. Western-backed dictators are easier to topple
4. Power is more dispersed in Iran
5. Religious propaganda
6. Oil money
7. The Supreme Leader