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8:41 PM
Reut R. Cohen
I have been following the situation of an Iranian blogger who was convicted of insulting the country's religious leaders and was jailed as a result. He was unfairly incarcerated in the notorious Evin prison.
Omidreza Mirsayafi, 29, was serving a 30-month sentence for insulting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini. The blogger's lawyer, Mohammed Ali Dadkhah, said officials informed him that Mirsayafi died last Wednesday.
Human rights campaigners called for prison officials to be prosecuted after Mirsayafi took extra doses of tranquilizers prescribed by prison doctors. Considering the reputation of the Evin prison, there is no way to verify if the statements by guards are actually true. There have been cases where students and reformists have been beaten or killed in the Evin prison.
Iran's semi-official Fars news agency also reported last week that authorities detained some people for allegedly setting up internet sites that are seen as anti-revolutionary, anti-religious or obscene. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards said its intelligence arm is involved in the crackdown.
According to the U.S. State Department's report on human rights in 2008, governmental organizations had reported an increase in Tehran's control over the Internet as more Iranians used it as source for news and debate. The report also references the case of Omidreza Mirsayafi.
In 2006, Mirsayafi wrote the following on his blog:I feel like a stranger in my own house...Is it really the ancient Persia I am living in? Is it the land of Cyrus the Great?... It must be a nightmare I am having. This is not Persia. This is the Islamic Republic.
I have never been a person who would stoop to self-censoring and will never be.
Also See:
- NGO calls for investigation into death of Iranian blogger
- Will Obama Listen to Iran's Bloggers?
- Sharia and Jihad Review: Woman Killed for Wearing Makeup, Iranian Blogger Dies in Jail & Yemenite Jews Face Hostilities
2 comments. Leave a comment:
Reut, what a horrible occurence in Iran.
Although I am just learning of this particular blogger, I do know of others in Iran and Saudi Arabia which are attempting to liberate the nations from the darkness and enlighten their host nations.
What a difference 30 years can make? The Shah, whatever his faults, ran a modern, advanced, hopeful regime in sharp contrast to the bloody Mullahs which Obama is so inclined to appease...
Thanks for your important comment. There are reformists and students who need to be empowered in the Middle East and Iran. So far Obama's actions are highly reminiscent of the Carter era. He seems to be empowering fascistic regimes rather than supporting positive, dissident movements.
At the end of the post I link to a Wall Street Journal article that echoes a lot of our concerns regarding Obama's outreach to Iran. I think you'll enjoy it.
Best wishes,
Reut
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