Neda Agha-Soltan, a young Iranian girl is killed by plainclothes in Tehran

A year ago today the symbol of Iranian struggle for democracy – Caution – this video contains graphic violence

A year ago that voter protests in Tehran resulted in death, injury and a crackdown on human rights in Iran. The death of 27 year old Neda Agha Soltan caught the world’s attention. Here was a young girl shot down randomly in the street and caught on cell phone camera. Her death has become an international symbol of the Iranian struggle for freedom.

امروز، سی خرداد، ساعت 7 بعد از ظهر این دختر جوان توسط لباس شخصی ها کشته شد

Basij shot to death a young woman in Tehran’s Saturday June 20th protests

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Neda Agha-Soltan’s fiancée sadly remembers her tragic death

Neda Agha-Soltan was shot by the paramilitary Basij. (Nedā Āġā-Soltān; b 1982 – d June 20, 2009)

She was a young, beautiful woman with a positive outlook and hope for the future with her fiance. All that was taken away in an instant.

“Caspian Makan, the fiancée of the young Iranian woman shot last week, tells Al Jazeera of her last moments. “Neda”, which is the Farsi word for voice, was allegedly shot dead by a Basij soldier in Tehran last week.” Al Jazeera English

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Iran executes two protesters over post-election unrest

Iranian court sentences 9 more to execution pending appeals

Mohammad Ali-Zamani is reportedly one of those hanged

Mohammad Ali-Zamani is reportedly one of those hanged

The wave of political unrest after the June 2009 elections in Iran has met with swift and fatal justice for two Iranians tried and executed. Nine more were convicted of crimes against god and await appeals.

BBC They had been convicted of being “enemies of God”, members of armed groups and trying to topple the Islamic establishment, Isna news agency said.

The executions are believed to be the first related to last year’s protests.

Millions demanded a re-run of June’s poll at the largest demonstrations in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Opposition groups said it had been rigged to ensure the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a charge the government denied.

At least 30 protesters have been killed in clashes since the elections, although the opposition says more than 70 have died. Thousands have been detained and some 200 activists remain behind bars.
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Iran’s Mourning Mothers Released

The mourning mothers, who had been arrested by Iranian security forces on Saturday during one of their weekly meetings at Laleh Park in Tehran, have been released gradually on January 13th

Cemetary Green Martyr Sohrab Aarabi

Cemetary Green Martyr Sohrab Aarabi

Source: Radio Zamaneh from Payvand Iran News and International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran

All members of the Mourning Mothers who were detained in Laleh Park in Tehran on Saturday, 9 January, have been gradually released, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported today.

The Campaign strongly condemns the harassment and detention of the Mourning Mothers and to address their legitimate grievances. Mourning Mothers is a group of mothers and relatives of those killed by government forces during recent events and was formed following the death of Neda Agha-Soltan. The group has grown to include the mothers and relatives of political prisoners who were executed in the past.
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Iranian nuclear scientist killed by remote-controlled bomb

Iranian TV blames the US and Israel

Dr. Massoud Ali-Mohammadi killed by a bomb

Dr. Massoud Ali-Mohammadi killed by a bomb

Video and story from LiveLeak

Jan 12, 8 am, Tehran time. Bomb was hidden in a motorcycle outside the home. He was killed as he left the house. He was a nuclear physics professor in a Tehran University.

An Iranian nuclear physics scientist has been killed in a remote-controlled bomb attack in the Iranian capital, Tehran. Dr. Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, a lecturer at the Tehran University and a staunch supporter of the Islamic Revolution, was killed in booby-trapped motorbike blast on Tuesday.

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Iran’s ‘Mourning Mothers’ must be released: Amnesty International

Women arrested and beaten after weekend vigil for their missing children

Mother of Neda Agha Soltan holds vigil

Mother of Neda Agha Soltan holds vigil

The “mourning mothers” are a group of women in Iran who demonstrate in public parks each Sunday for their missing and killed children. Among them last week was the mother of killed activist Neda Agha-Soltan.

Amnesty International has urged the Iranian authorities to release a group of women who were beaten and arrested during a peaceful vigil in Tehran at the weekend, the organization said.

“Women who are grieving for children killed by security personnel want to know truth about what happened and have an opportunity to count on support from the state in this issue. They must not face arbitrary detention and beatings,” Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme said.

About 33 women, members of a group known as the ‘Mourning Mothers’, were seized during their weekly meeting in Laleh Park, Tehran on Saturday, media outlets reported. Several of the women were beaten and 10 were taken to hospital.

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How Iran intimidates protesters abroad

Iranian secret police scan the Internet for names and pictures to threaten

Iranian protestBy Sean Emery, the Orange County Register

IRVINE – In July, a UC Irvine student was photographed watching a campus rally about the opposition to the Iranian government. Five months later, she says her relatives in Iran were visited and questioned by government officials who had apparently seen the photo on the Orange County Register’s Web site.

Expert and local organizers describe the visit as part of an Iranian government effort to use the Internet to identify protesters and harass family members.

A worldwide movement that has relied heavily on Web sites such as Twitter and Facebook to express opposition to Iranian authorities has found they aren’t the only ones taking advantage of social networking and media coverage; Iranian government forces are apparently using those same tools to hold citizens accountable for their relatives’ actions outside the country.

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Gravestone Of Slain Iranian Protester Neda Agha Soltan Vandalized

The fiance of the iconic slain Iranian protester Neda says her gravestone has been vandalized, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports. Caspian Makan told Radio Farda from Vancouver that the grave of Neda Agha Soltan was found vandalized on December 31. He said this was not the first time the gravestone had been desecrated.

Neda's tombstone photographed after the alleged vandalism  photo - payvand iran news

Neda's tombstone photographed after the alleged vandalism photo - payvand iran news

By Payvand Iran News

The 27-year-old Neda was shot dead during post election protests in June. Her final moments, captured on video, became a symbol of the Iranian government’s heavy-handed response to protests following the June presidential election.

The tombstone, which is engraved with an image of Neda’s face, was pockmarked with holes. Makan suspects the damage was caused by bullets.

Makan told Radio Farda that the grave is in a guarded section of the cemetery, so any damage could not have occurred without the knowledge of cemetery officials.

Makan blamed “those who opened fire on Neda and others” as responsible for the latest vandalism. “Whenever this kind of thing happens, it becomes clear that the Islamic republic does such acts of desecration, but they refuse to accept responsibility,” he said.

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Readers Choice top World stories 2009

10. Cheap Adobe software scam from China

9. China will censor every computer for pornography and banned content

8. Air France jet disappears over 228 on board – flight path

7. Tehran On fire – Basij Headquarter blown up by protesters, basijies Killed

6. Airline pilot explains flight problems with Air France flight

5. Neda Agha-Soltan, a young girl is killed by plainclothes in Tehran

4. Air France crash – debris spotted on Atlantic Ocean

3. Air France 447: The computer crash

2. Neda Agha-Soltan’s fiancée sadly remembers her tragic death

1. Neda Agha-Soltan’s sister speaks for her murdered sister

Raider’s of the Lost Iraq Treasures Restored

Treasures lost in Iraq Invasion restored and soon on Google

Google CEO Eric Schmidt has announced Google will be displaying the lost treasurers of Iraq next year on the Internet.

Many priceless artifacts were lost from the “Cradle of Civilization” during the 2003 invasion by the US. Looters took advantage of the chaos to loot items that dated back over eight thousand years.

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