UCPD officers shot a student several times with a Taser inside the Powell Library CLICC computer lab late Tuesday night before taking him into custody. He is an Iranian student called Mostafa.
I can imagine that this student did not behaved well with the police or refused to do what all the other people did (showing ID), but even if this is the case, TORTURING a student several times with a Taser (electrical shock) and asking him to STAND UP while being under electrical shock is kind of sadism.
I'm sure that my country's monopole TV will start to show this video soon. I have to see it several times a day and many people will talk how bad USA is. I have to say that I hate USAs politicians too but THIS MOVIE CAN BE RECORDED AND BROADCAST there. If this thing happened in Iran and anybody was brave enough to record it with her cellphone, she would spend 15 years in prison for “propaganda against the Islamic Republic”.
Anyway, I wrote a polite letter to these people:
Norman Abrams
chancellor@conet.ucla.edu
Evc Neuman
evc@conet.ucla.edu
william Bratton
brattonw@lapd.lacity.org
Antonio Villaraigosa
mayor@lacity.org
Asking them “justice for Mostafa”.
his name is Akbar Mohammadi and he was arrested in studental uprisings 7 years ago. Yesterday he died in Prison after 7 days of hunger strike… shame ! (Amnesty Int: Iran: Akbar Mohammadi's death in custody signals need for justice reform
In Iran gathering and demonstrating is legal by the text of constiutional law But as government afraids of free opinions, police always attacks to INDEPNDENT movements and arrest people and claim: “you did not get the permission for your gathering!”.
Yesterday, some of our friends gathered in the Daneshjoo park - central tehran - to emphasis their “NO WAR” and “RIGHT OF GATHERING” demands. You have to consider that “NO WAR” motto is used instead of “DOWN TO ISRAEL, LONG LIVE HIZBOLLAH” which is a official motto.
About 100 people were participated and passengers took the booklets against WAR. The main mottos were:
- stop the war against humanity
- Bread, Peace, Freedom
- Telaviv workers ! Strike ! and the war machine will stop
- No WAR !
- Stop terror and violence
- I'm against Imperialism, Fundumentalism and Terror
Some people wore red t-shirts with the “bread, peace and freedom” on it, As you can guess from the RED colors and mottos, the gathering had finished by singing International and parading in the park.
There were risk of arrests and batons but I'm glad that the gathering finished in peace and calm. Maybe the Islamic regime did not understood the true meaning of it or maybe it prefered to accept the “right of gathering” when people are using it in an “anti USA” theme.
And the last word: There is a big diffrence between this one and official/governmental gatherings. In this one nobody is paid, nobidy gets profits, nobody passes the university entrance exams because of participating in this one, etc. It was a brave act from the brave people who tried to defend their own rights specially when talking about “freedom of gathering” and “I am against fundumentalism”
Photos of police attack to peaceful gathering of Iranian women. for more info read the previous article.
Photos are from Kosoof.com
Today women organizations were going to demonstrate in Tehran/Iran. They were going to start the gathering at 17 o'clock and police have knew about this. In recent days government was trying to threaten NGOs and activist by saing they will be arrested and organazations will be closed.
papers reads: we condemned any kind of discrimination
Women were there at 17:00 and the plan was sitting in a park and showing some mottos about their problems which includes:
HumanRightsFirst: The laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran continue to treat women as second-class citizens, and deem the value of the life of a woman as half that of a man's. Women are denied equal rights in many elements of family life, including marriage and divorce, child custody, and inheritance laws.
Police did not let people to sit on the park floor and while talking, started to beat women using batons and sprayed tearing gas and red ink(!) on them. They've even sprayed this red ink in peoples face. At this point passerbys stopped to watch the struggle and asked about the reason but police also attacked them and confrontation started ! Police attacked walking people and they answered. Police have arrested more than 60 persons including activists and ordinary people.
All the area was full of screams and fight sounds and batons. My wife has a baton sign on her arm but says everything is OK and she is proud living her ideals.
We have to wait for coming days to see the consequences. The most dangerous time is not demonstration itself, but the next days. We have to aware not letting our friends get arrested, support the arrested ones and defend our non governmental organizations. Oh ! we have to also think about our censored sites and weblogs.
here is our new concept: policewomen with Chador and Baton.
Pay special attention to her sign on her sleeves beacuse of not having shoulders !
At last police made all people to leave the place but you can not answer somebody who is looking for primary rights (as simple as monogamy) with batons forever.
Just an hour ago, three feminist sites are censored (Filtered) in Iran !
- www.Hastiandish.org is an feminist NGO which helds workshops and advocate for equal rights. Their previous site (www.hastia.org) was censored once and about one year ago, they've switched to this new site. Now this one is censored too.
- www.HerLandMag.com is also a website of a feminist group which is censored previousely. After their first site (www.IFTribune.com, a women news portal) was blocked, they've started this new site which is a weekly magazine.
- www.ParastooD.com is another famous weblogger in Iran. She is a feminist journalist. Her weblog is one of the most famous weblogs in Iran.
In one hand I have to say “I don't know why these site are blocked” but in the other hand I have to say “It is obvious why Ahmadinejad filters these sites”. None of these sites ever wrote about violence or sexual contents. They were defending womens rights and asking for equal rights. These websites were among main websites who reflects todays events. Today is 12 June and all women groups and activist are going to demonstrate in streets demanding equal rights. Government have been called most of them and announced them “If you participate, we'll arrest you!” or “If this demonstration takes place, we'll shut down your organazation”. This is ridiculus but is REAL.
Three months ago, police attacked women in 8th of march and beat them with battons. I wish health and security for every woman participating in this demonstration !
p.s. Around six months ago, ahmadi jenad announced that nobody is allowed to promote feministic, liberalistic and nihilistic ideas in Iran !
Azadi (means Freedom) is the major soccer stadium in Tehran with the capacity of 100'000 MEN. No woman can enter it during a soccer match because religious leaders believes it's atmosphere is not good for Muslim women and being a soccer stadium and seeing naked legs of men perverts them ( But they can see it on T.V. !)
But there are around 40 women rights activists and some female soccer lovers who have organized a group of protest and in spite of anti-revolutionary police and their batons and jails, try to enter the stadium in national matches.
The last confrontation was yesterday when Iran national team had a friendly match with Bosnia. In the previous time, police have been attacked brutally and beaten women who wanted to enter stadium and even broke one of activists leg and broke and tore all placards so people wont know why these women are here.
This time, having the experience of previous times, women were armed with new placards: their scarfs ! In Iran wearing a scarf is obligatory and all women have to wear them and not wearing a scarf will sentenced by jail. So this time football lovers and women rights activists choosed to write their motto “Woman's share, is half of the Freedom” on their scarfs. A brilliant idea. Even women with Chador did this.
They all had a white scarf with the motto which says women must have the right to enter football stadium and also means “Why my rights is half of your rights” which resembles parts of Islam which says women rights are half of the mens.
They went to stadium by a rental bus with a brave driver because there were a high risk of police attack and arrest and even jails and beatings. They reviewed the map once more and rush out of the bus toward the stadium.
Police were there and knew about the protest. They made a circle around them fast and did not let anybody to shoot a photo or record a video. One of the activists tried to enter the stadium in spite of police forced but police attacked her and tried to arrest her but luckily with the intervention of other activists and their support, they released her.
There is no photos of this parts because Iranian police dose not let anybody (including reporters) to take any photo of their brutality.
Luckily nobody was arrested and in spite of some beatings and physical conflict everybody returned home by a shared bus safe and alive 
In the way home, they have changed their scarfs and hanged white scarfs with freedom motto, out of bus's windows.
On of these brave women (Parastood) writes in her weblog: “Some people feel sympathy with us and some people say we are fun and brave! Lot's of people heard our voice and they have to. This is the way when we have no free media”.
And remember ! This girl can not enter stadiums anymore when she is two years older…
Photos: Maryam Ommi
Story+Photos in Farsi: Parastoo
Story+Photos in Farsi: Nasrin
Story in Farsi: Varesh
Special Thanks to www.parastood.com ! Where I've leeched the photos from
One week ago, hardliners in universities canceled ANJOMAN elections in universities. ANJOMAN is the only group in university which memebers are selective and choosen by students. Responding to this event, students gathered in universities and demand their right to choose their ANJOMAN.
In addition, ministry of higher education forced five professsors to stop teaching in universities and sign off(?) from the university ! This was only because of their ideas and beleifs. This also made students angry and they parade again IN the university and asked the return of their beloved teachers.
(reads: University is not a Military base)
The day after police and basij (hardliners semi-military group) have attacked the universities/dormitories but students defend. This continued next days and lots of students have been arrested and nonboy know were they are and what they do with them.
During these attacks, police has used batons, kicks and electrical batons. Lots of students have been injured and one of them is in very dangerous condition. He've got a batton in his head.
Most of these movements are happening in Tehran university and AmirKabir university (AKU). I'm sure that police is going to oppress this one too and will arrest all activists but I'm sure that one day Iran will face human rights too.
Maybe a week ago, one cartoon published in an newspaper which made all turk people in Iran angry. The concept of cartoon says that turk people are illitrated and fool.
I've seen the cartoon and it is not THAT bad. But the people of the turk parts of Iran (such as Azarbaijan, Ardabil, Naghadeh, …) are in streets and demonstrating. This demonstrations are not due to that cartoon. The cartoon is just an ignistion which exploded a decades of oppression.
Turks in Iran do not have to study their language. They do not have access to turkish mass media and they face some other discriminations. These days we face anger from decades and polices brutality adds to this anger. “Anti revolutionary police” attacks to demontrations and kills people. Azarbaijans radio talk of 20 people who killed by police during this week and Turks all around Iran are going to demontrate in Tehran in sunday.
All people ask minister of “islamic guidance” (man in charge of that newspaper) to appologize turks but government have arrested poor cartoonist (Mana Neyestani) and shuted down the newspaper (called Iran) instead.
I've just got some SMSs and emails which claim that police have attacked to universities dormitories !
I have no detailed info but I'm surfing to find them soon. Or I might go to the university to see what is happening there. I'm afraid that Ahmadinejad is going to repeat July 1999 events
Image belongs to 1999 movements.
more photos in link above
I'm Jadi, an Iranian blogger from inside Iran. I'm blocked in my own country so I've decided to write in English for outsiders (