Gathering the news about Iran's 2009 National election in one place.

Arrest

Following today's protests, Iranian government has cut off our internet access. We can't even check Gmail & Yahoo mail. This might be sign of a second round of crackdown & here's what you can do about it. : reddit.com

Following today's protests, Iranian government has cut off our internet access. We can't even check Gmail & Yahoo mail.: Via reddit.com .

Following today's protests, Iranian government has cut off our internet access. We can't even check Gmail & Yahoo mail. This might be sign of a second round of crackdown & here's what you can do about it.

Now, What does this blockade mean?

It could be a last-minute effort to prevent today's footage & pictures from getting out.
But it could also be sign of a second wave of arrests; they might try to arrest Musavi & Karrubi (Opposition leaders).
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Clinton Urges Iran to Release Detained Americans (VoA)

Clinton Urges Iran to Release Detained Americans: Via Voice of America.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Iran to release all Americans detained in the country, including three hikers arrested last month.

Clinton Saturday called on Iranian authorities to grant consular access to the three hikers, who were detained July 31.

Iranian television has described the three as spies who illegally entered the country.
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The arrested protester that got away (Video)

The arrested protester that got away: Via The Observers (FRANCE 24).

Editor: Go to The Observers (FRANCE 24) site for the video.

As Mahmoud Ahmadinejad received the official endorsement of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday, the crackdown on opposition protesters continued in the streets of Tehran. Our Iranian Observers tell us that the police are still arresting demonstrators. One, however, already handcuffed, managed to escape.

In preparation for Ahmadinejad's inauguration the authorities banned all gatherings on Monday. The time and place of the ceremony was kept secret but protesters turned out anyway in the Vali-e-Asr and Vanak districts.
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Key witness disputes Hejazi account of Neda death ( PressTV.ir )

Key witness disputes Hejazi account of Neda death: Via PressTV.ir .

Editor: Days after her killing, Mr. Panahi spoke to The Los Angeles Times in a much more defiant mood, after the Iranian government had denied her family permission to bury or mourn her in accordance with Shiite tradition:

More than a month after Neda Aqa-Soltan was killed in the post-election frenzy in Iran, a key witness to the incident moves to set the record straight.

Neda, 26, was shot dead on June 20 in an alley away from the scene of clashes between security forces and demonstrators in Tehran.

She immediately became an international icon after graphic videos of her bleeding to death in a matter of seconds, grabbed the attention of world media outlets.
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Iran: Stop ‘Framing’ Government Critics | Human Rights Watch

Iran: Stop ‘Framing’ Government Critics: Via Human Rights Watch.

(New York) - Iranian authorities are coercing detained supporters of reform presidential candidates to implicate leading reformists in illegal acts, Human Rights Watch said today. Intelligence forces have also intensified pressure on the families of detainees to be silent about their cases.

Family members and recently released detainees have described to Human Rights Watch the coercion that is taking place. On July 15, 2009, Gholamhussein Mohseni Ejeie, Iran's minister of intelligence, told reporters that, "The confessions obtained from those arrested could be made public, should the Judiciary decide to air their remarks."

"It's appalling that the minister of intelligence is talking about publicizing confessions made by people held for weeks without access to lawyers," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The minister's statement underscores our fears that these so-called confessions are obtained under duress."
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Thirty-six army officers arrested in Tehran over protest plan

Thirty-six army officers arrested in Tehran over protest plan: Via guardian.co.uk .

Officers planned to attend sermon by former president Hashemi Rafsanjani in military uniform

The Iranian army has arrested 36 officers who planned to attend last week's Friday prayer sermon by former president Hashemi Rafsanjani in their military uniforms as an act of political defiance, according to Farsi-language websites.

The officers intended the gesture to show solidarity with the demonstrations against last month's presidential election result, which was won by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but which has been clouded by allegations of mass fraud.
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Group: Human rights lawyer detained as Iran unrest spirals (CNN)

Group: Human rights lawyer detained as Iran unrest spirals: Via CNN.com .

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran cites witnesses of kidnapping
* Human rights lawyer Shadi Sadr was pushed into a car and driven off, witnesses say
* "This was an illegal, arbitrary and violent arrest," Amnesty International director says

Government agents used tear gas to disperse demonstrators, and beat and kidnapped a human rights lawyer, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said Saturday, citing witnesses.

The advocacy group said human rights lawyer Shadi Sadr, who was walking with friends to Friday prayers, was confronted by people dressed in civilian clothes. They pushed her into a car and drove off, the group said, citing witnesses.

In a subsequent telephone call to her husband, Sadr said she had been arrested and detained in ward 209 of Tehran's Evin prison, the group said.
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Iran’s Rafsanjani Challenges Post-Election Crackdown- Bloomberg.com

Iran’s Rafsanjani Challenges Post-Election Crackdown : Via Bloomberg.com.

uly 17 (Bloomberg) -- Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani challenged the government’s crackdown on protests over the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, urging respect for the opposition and the release of detainees.

“There is no need for force, if military, security and intelligence forces allow,” Rafsanjani, a former president who heads the country’s influential Assembly of Experts, said during a nationally broadcast Friday prayers sermon at Tehran University. “We are all part of one family.”

His audience included former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, state-run Press TV said. Mousavi, whose election bid was backed indirectly by Rafsanjani, is among opposition candidates who have said the June 12 vote was rigged. Ahmadinejad, whose re-election was endorsed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has denied the charge.
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IRAN: Human rights lawyer Shadi Sadr reportedly arrested

IRAN: Human rights lawyer Shadi Sadr reportedly arrested: Via Babylon & Beyond | Los Angeles Times.

Prominent lawyer, women's rights activist and journalist Shadi Sadr was arrested by plainclothes policemen on her way to Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's much-anticipated Friday sermon, according to several reformist websites.

The activist group blog Mothers of Laleh reported that Sadr was walking with several other female activists when she was approached by individuals in civilian dress who refused to show a warrant before forcing her into a waiting car.

Conflicting reports say she called her husband to ask for a computer password or a cellphone personal identification number, but her whereabouts are still unknown.

Sadr, who also edits the Farsi news website womeniniran.com, was arrested and held for two weeks in 2007. She has clashed with authorities numerous times over her outspoken stance on women's rights and capital punishment.

-- Meris Lutz in Beirut

Read Original Article:(Via Babylon & Beyond | Los Angeles Times.)
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U.S. worried about American scholar detained in Iran

U.S. worried about American scholar detained in Iran: Via Reuters on Yahoo! News.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States called on Iran on Monday to release U.S. citizen Kian Tajbakhsh and said it was "deeply concerned" about the scholar, who was detained in Tehran last week and has previously been accused of spying.

Tajbakhsh, an Iranian American who holds a doctorate in urban planning from Columbia University, was arrested by Iranian authorities in May 2007, charged with spying and then released after more than four months in Tehran's Evin prison.

It was not clear why Tajbakhsh was detained last week.
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