Iran Puts More Protesters on Trial: Via Voice of America.

Iranian media say Iran has started its fourth mass trial for detainees with charges related to the unrest that followed the June 12 re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The reports do not say how many protesters are on trial Tuesday in a Tehran revolutionary court. Several leading reformists are among the defendants, including Iran's former Deputy Interior Minister Mostafa Tajzadeh, former Deputy Foreign Minister Mohsen Aminzadeh and a former government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh.

Iran put 28 more detainees on trial earlier this month. Iran has used mass trials to prosecute more than 130 people since the election. Those on trial include high-ranking politicians, a French teacher, and Iranian staff of the British and French embassies.
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German Firm Withdraws Threat to Fire Employees in Iran - WSJ.com: Via The Wall Street Journal/WSJ.

Knauf Gips KG, a German building materials company that last week told its employees in Iran they would be fired if they participated in political demonstrations, withdrew the threat on Friday after The Wall Street Journal published an article about the policy.

"Without question, the formulation of the July 21, 2009 letter from Knauf Iran P.J.S.C. was unfortunate and needs to be corrected," Knauf Executive Board Chairman Manfred Grundke said in a statement.

The letter in question, written by Isabel Knauf, a member of the company's founding family who helps oversee its Iranian business, said: "If anybody from our company gets caught demonstrating against the current government, he or she will be immediately dismissed."
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Clinton Deplores Reported Iranian Prisoner Abuse: Via Voice of America.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday she deplores the reported abuse in custody of Iranians rounded up in protests of the country's disputed June 12 presidential election. Clinton discussed the situation in Iran with visiting British Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

The comments by Clinton at a press appearance with her British counterpart were the first by a senior U.S. official on the multiple reports from Iran this week that detainees in the crackdown by the Tehran government may have been tortured, and some killed, while in detention.

Clinton hailed what she termed the "incredible courage" of Iranian election protestors in standing up against what they viewed as an infringement of their rights, and said the alleged abuse of prisoners is deplorable.
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The Man in the Shadow: Mojtaba Khamenei: Via Tehran Bureau.

[TEHRAN BUREAU] Despite the transparency of your positions [regarding various issues], there have been reports that your respected son — Mr. Sayyed Mojtaba — has supported one of the candidates [in the presidential elections]. Then, I heard that a high official has told you that, “Your son has supported one of the candidates” [implying that he had carried out his father’s order], to which you have reportedly responded, “He is his own man, not just my son,” which made it clear that [his] support was his own personal view [and preference, and not yours].

At the same time there were reports about his [Mojtaba’s] support for another candidate — whose star suddenly dimmed three days before the elections and [the] kindness and support moved toward the other candidate — and that he [Mojtaba] had even had an active role in the campaign of that candidate [before switching to the other candidate]. You are well aware that the unwise intervention of the relatives and aids of some religious and political officials in the past [elections] has had very negative consequences for the political establishment and the nation.
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IRAN: 30 years later, a family again takes to the streets: Via Babylon & Beyond | Los Angeles Times.

Three decades ago Mina, an 18-year-old who had recently graduated from high school, took to the streets with her family to protest the injustice and tyranny of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in demonstrations that led to his overthrow.

Last month, the 48-year-old professor of physiology again took to the streets, again her with family, to oppose the reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad amid allegations of massive vote fraud.

At the time of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, "the military were in the streets but they were just soldiers," she recalled. "They were just doing their duty because of orders from their commander. Most of the time they came and told people to run and not to stay, because they were afraid of their commanders."

But now, she said, it's different. The pro-government Basiji militiamen on the streets "really beat people and they want to kill people," she said in an interview, asking that her last name not be published for fear of retribution.
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