August 3, approximately a thousand people gathered in front of Judiciary Chief Shahroodi’s office. The protesters went to show their opposition to the trial of reformists.

Checkpoints are being set up in Tehran by Basijis and police.

Mahdi Karroubi on Sunday said that the confessions of political prisoners in court had no value. He asked the government to find a solution the current problem and asked them to stop trials, arrests and creating panic and fear among the people.

Mohsen Rezaie today asked that if reformists could be put on trial, then the government should also put on trial members of security forces, who violated Iranian laws during the post-election unrest.

Ebrahim Yazdi – the Secretary-General of the Freedom Movement of Iran – today said that the prosecutor’s claims, during the trial of reformists, was an attack on the integrity of the regime. He called the confessions immoral and said that it was an example of the in-fighting amongst various factions of the regime.

The office of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court has warned people to not comment on or criticize the trial of reformist leaders, reporters and other detainees. It added that anyone who did so would be prosecuted. The warning came after not only reformists, but even some conservative Iranian members of parliament openly criticized the trial and questioned its legitimacy.


The confirmation ceremony of Ahmadinejad by Khamenei was held today in Tehran. The ceremony was attended by Ayatollah Hashemi Shahrodi, Ali Larejani, Ahmad Jannati, Mohsen Rezaie, Ayatollah Golpaygani, Mojtaba Khamenei, Ahmad Najafi, Afshin Ghotbi, Hossein Rezazadeh, Hamid Reza Saakit, Jahangir Almasi, Mohammad Reza Sharifinya, Mohammad Saleh ‘Ala and Mahmood Khosravi Wafa. During the ceremony, Ahmadinejad did not kiss Khamenei’s hand as he normally does and instead planted a kiss on the Supreme Leader’s shoulder

Neither Khatami nor Rafsanjani – two former presidents of Iran – attended the ceremony. It had been speculated that at least Rafsanjani might attend, but he has left Tehran and is reportedly in Kerman. No member of Imam Khomeini’s family attended the ceremony either.

Members of Iran’s Parliament have asked Ahmadinejad to provide answers as to why he sacked two distinguished and high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Intelligence last week. The two officials are Haji Habibullah and Khazayee. The MPs want to know why their sacking was undertaken without consultation with the parliament first.

Hashemi Rafsanjani’s son, Mahdi Hashemi said today that the trial of detained reformists was going to weaken the regime and the Supreme Leader. He called it a show trial and laughable.

Famous Iranian lawyer Mohammad Hossein Aghasi spoke to Voice of America from Iran and said that the trial could not be called one. He added that it was like ‘a theatre act’ staged by the government.


Pooya Maghsood Beigi is the newest victim whose death has been confirmed. He was arrested in Kermanshah on June 20 and died after suffering extreme torture in Kermanshah Prison. He died a few days after being released. Now reports have emerged that his mother, Zahra Nowrozi was arrested from Kermanshah yesterday.

According to this account, the four had traveled to Turkey, then entered the Kurdish region Tuesday through the Ibrahim Al-Khalil border point in Zakho, the official said. They visited the Kurdish cities of Irbil and Sulaimaniyah on Wednesday. The next day, three of them took a taxi to Ahmed Awaa where they told their companion that they planned to stay at a nearby resort, the official said.

The three contacted their companion on Friday and told him "they had mistakenly entered Iranian territory and that troops surrounded them," the official said, adding "that was the last contact with them."

Iranian media today reported that the three American hikers who were arrested from northwestern Iran, are being held on charges of espionage and were working for the CIA. Iranian state television described the trio as military personnel, and outside agitators.

Iranian eyewitnesses said that since last night two US spy planes have been flying over 'Ahmed Awa' area in the Iraqi region of Kurdistan, where the American tourists stayed before crossing into Iran.

It has been confirmed that the three people detained are Joshua Fattal, Shane Bauer, and Sarah Shourd. Fattal lives in Eugene, Ore., and the other two Americans are from the Bay area. All three appear to be writers, as is Meckfessel, who authored the book "Suffled How it Gush: A North American Anarchist in the Balkans."

Fattal writes for "The Jewish Week." Bauer is a regular contributor to "New America Media." Shourd is also a contributor to "New America Media."

Once the Iranians discover that all three are journalists and one is Jewish, all hopes of these kids being returned go down the drain.

I really hope I'm wrong in this, but I fully expect these three to be put on trial as spies and outside agitators, and accused of being the ringleaders for the protests. More confessions through torture, and then executions.

Gods, I hope I'm wrong...

Tweets from Iran:

Teran is on fire, large numbers expected to go late into the night. Unconfirmed reports of live fire by police, this one may go well into the night.

Chants of "Coup d'etat" are now being reported.

Women on radio says its now their time to be killed one by one #iranelection

(This referst to the women's time. They are positioning themselves in the front, between the men and the basiji, so the basiji have to take them out to get to the people behind them. And they are refusing to let themselves be arrested or pushed out of the way.

Other tweets are saying that the basiji have orders to "take out the ones in the front" and then make arrests later.)

@shirenar Basij hiting every thing even the cars and closed shop windows...Vanak people need help it is a war #iranelection

Fire burning in Narmak park -Ahmaghinejad's neighborhood. #iranelection

@iranproxy: Iran radio estimated there may have been over 25,000 people present at one protest in Tehran

TehranBureau: they started hitting all the people around him, even the old women.