The first round of trials of opposition prisoners in Iran will begin this weekend.

The report said this was the "first phase" of trials, and that in later phases the defendants would be "those who ordered the post election unrest," an apparent reference to opposition politicians.

The conditions in the prisons are appalling. Many of the prisoners released yesterday have been reporting the abuses, sparking fresh outrage.

Accounts emerged from released prisoners about beatings and brutality during their detention. One told of being crammed with 200 other protesters in a pitch-black cell as guards waded in, beating them. Another said he and other detainees were forced to lick toilet bowls.

In recent days, there have been several deaths of young activists in prison — including the son of a prominent conservative. The announcement of trials is likely to anger the opposition, which says that detainees are being tortured into making false confessions to be used against them in court.

One told of being held at Kahrizak since his arrest in a July 9 protest, saying, "We were at least 200 people in one room, and everyone was getting beatings with sticks." He wrote that at one point the guards turned out the lights and beat the prisoners for a half hour. The protester, who said he was released on Monday, listed the names of six prisoners he believed had died during the assaults.

Thank you, so very much, to everyone who is helping Fayah's words to be heard. I have passed along all of the messages telling of the support and love, and she and her friends are inspired and gratified by your caring.

She anticipates being out of contact starting later today, as the government is preparing to shut down phone service, internet service, and electricity to try to keep a lid on tomorrow's memorial for the June 20 martyrs.

Fayah and her friends and the hundreds of thousands of others fighting for their freedom need to be heard. If you have a facebook or twitter account, please repost her letter. Send it to the news networks. Get the word out. There is no need to credit me or to link to this blog, just copy and paste her words anywhere you can think of. The enemy of freedom is silence.

If you want to help the people in Iran, please go to this website and donate if you can, or use your extra bandwidth to set up proxy servers and tor bridges. It is because of the efforts of austinheap and others that Fayah and her friends can tell their stories. You truly can make a difference.

http://blog.austinheap.com/

Please keep the people of Iran in your thoughts and prayers, especially tomorrow.

Fayah.

Rashid.

Ali.

Remember them.

Excerpts:

1. The Ministry of Interior refused to issue a permit for gatherings on Thursday for mourning the 40th day of Neda’s death. However, Mousavi and other reformists have indicated that they would proceed with plans for gatherings, even if a permit is not issued. Mousavi and other reformist leaders will also visit the graves of protesters who have been killed during the unrests. Mousavi has reportedly suggested that his supporters make use of religious holy days for gatherings and rallies – full confirmation of this could not be obtained

2.Two minutes of silence will be publicly observed in many parts of the world on Thursday. For more details on this and how to participate, please follow this link: http://silentwave.info/

16. Reports suggest that Ahmadinejad is losing support in parliament. At least two parliament members have reportedly suggested in recent days that Ahmadinejad’s government could face a vote of no confidence. However, this remains only partially confirmed. Ahmadinejad is also still under pressure by some conservatives for keeping Esfandiar Mashaie as his Chief of Staff.

20. More deaths during the protests have been confirmed.

- Hossein Akhtar-Zand, 32, was killed by Basijis in Isfahan on June 15th.
It has been alleged that he was thrown from a building. I have seen pictures of his body. I am not going to post the link as they are too graphic.

- Saeed Abbasi was killed on June 20 after being shot in the head on Rodaki Ave.-

- Sajjad Qayed Rahmati, was killed on June 21 by IRG members near Navab Metro Station.

- Davood Sadri, 25, was killed on June 15 after being shot by Basijis from the rooftop of their headquarters at Moghdad near Jinnah Avenue in Tehran.

- Amir Javadi Langroodi has also died after suffering days of torture at Evin.

- A 16 year old detainee was brutally beaten in front of more than 200 other detainees at Kahrizak and died on the spot.

- Hossein Akbari was killed by security forces in the first week of unrests. He had gone missing, but his family didn’t know of his death for almost a month. His body was given to his family on July 22 and he was buried four days later.

- Mansour Ghoujazadeh, a resident of Khoy, was beaten so badly during a protest that he couldn’t survive his injuries. He was quietly buried after his family was threatened by security forces.
(But they aren’t just names, they have faces too: http://www.persia.org/list/ )

21. Reports today confirmed the detention center, ordered to be shut down by Khamenei, is Kahrizak Detention Center located south of Tehran. Horrendous reports of torture and abuse are surfacing about the facility.

- One detainee reportedly suffered so much trauma to the head at Kahrizak that he went blind and died in detention.

- Detainees are forced to strip, then, electric cables are used to lash them for hours ripping into their bodies and inflicting terrible damage.

- Other detainees are crammed into small cells where many have contracted infectious diseases.

- Tehran’s Police Chief, Ibrahim Reza Radan has personally beaten and tortured detainees on his visits to the facility. His weapon of choice was reportedly a plastic hose.

The full brief is here: http://iran.whyweprotest.net/green-brief/22317-green-brief-42-july-28-a.html

Tomorrow July 30th people around the world will be observing two minutes of silence in honor of those who have died in the Iran protests.

This is for an event in New York, but if you go to the website there is information from around the world:

Dear Friends,

This Thursday the 30th of July marks the 40th day since the tragic death of Neda Agha-Soltan. In her remembrance, numerous mourning ceremonies will take place in Iran and around the world.

While simply standing on the street, Neda Agha-Soltan was shot in the chest by government militias. As videos of this unfortunate event surfaced on the internet, her death sparked international condemnation. To this day, however, no committee has investigated the circumstances behind her murder and the Iranian government has not taken any measures to arrest and prosecute those responsible. The official response has consisted of threats and intimidation directed at Neda’s family, accusations that western governments were behind her murder, and a request for an international warrant for Arash Hejazi, the doctor who tried to save her life.

The despicable rhetoric of the Iranian government has only strengthened our will, and we demand Truth and Justice for Neda.

Please join us for a silent vigil of commemoration in New York City on Thursday July 30th, 7:30-9:30pm in Union Square Park (Park Ave. & 14th St.) in order to remind the Iranian government that we are all Neda.

Participants are asked to take a vow of silence for the duration of the vigil. We request that there be no speeches, no chants, no structures, no marches, no flags, no factions. Candles and flowers are optional. We will distribute handheld Neda “masks” that comply with legal standards.

In solidarity,

Where is My Vote? – New York Chapter

http://silentwave.info/

First, welcome everyone! I'm astounded and overwhelmed by the enormous support I've been receiving in getting the word out.

Many of you, in different forums (Yeah, I know...it's fora. But it looks stupid.) have been complaining about the indifference and apathy of friends, family, and acquaintances. You've been telling me that they won't listen, they don't care, and most importantly they feel it has nothing to do with them.

I'm going to repost something I wrote several weeks ago. Something that lost me a lot of friends. But it's important, damnit. Feel free to repost in whole or in part if you think this might help educate those around you.

Remember always: Silence implies consent. The enemy of freedom is silence.

I am increasingly disgusted with the apathy and lack of foresight of the American people. I am saddened by how very few of my friends, here on LJ and elsewhere, are paying any attention to the revolution in Iran. No one seems to care. The popular concensus seems to be that it is not important, or has nothing to do with us, so let's just post some more Michael Jackson videos and rehash his career.

Iran is the most important thing happening in the world right now, and every one of us should be concerned and should be doing all in our power to give aid and support to the people there. Here's why:

If the protesters succeed in their quest for freedom and democracy, it will change the entire face of the Middle East.
It will increase stability.
It will encourage other Islamic governments to take a more moderate approach.
It will mean that there will be no nuclear arms race in the Middle East.
It will mean that the voices of the people WILL be heard, no matter what oppressive tactics are used against them.
It will mean that Islamic governments throughout the Middle East will have to allow democratic reform, or risk being overthrown.
It will mean one more huge step towards a world without the threat of nuclear war.

If that's not enough, it will mean lower gas prices.
It will mean that terrorists will no longer have unlimited funding and access to weapons, training, and safe haven.

What can you do to help?
Pay attention. The protester want the world to know of their plight, while their suppressors are doing everything in their power to silence them.

If you have the bandwidth, set up a proxy server so the people on the streets of Tehran have more safe opportunities to get the truth out.

Go here to support the effort to provide internet access to Iran: http://blog.austinheap.com/

Talk to people, post on your blog, get the word out. The more people who know and understand what is happening, the more pressure can be put on our governments to provide aid to those who need it. Tweet, Digg, post on Facebook.

Donate to the Red Crescent. Currently, they are being denied the opportunity to help the protesters, but they will need funds for when they are allowed to provide assistance.

Make your voice heard. Help the protesters to be heard.

Contact CNN and the other networks and tell them you want them to cover the real news.

Keep the people of Iran in your thoughts and your prayers.


As human beings, we have an obligation to support and encourage those who fight against injustice, those who demand freedom and democracy and the most basic human rights. If we ignore this situation, if we go about our daily lives with no thought but our own concerns, we diminish ourselves.

Gods bless the people of Iran.