Green Brief #25

(This report has been compiled through reports by twitter users in Iran and aboard, as well as contacts inside and outside Iran. Media outlets have been credit where used. As reports coming from Iran cannot be fully authenticated, if the report confirms something, at best it confirms that several reliable twitter sources agreed upon it. If you want to follow my updates, my twitter account is @Iran_Translator)

Protests / Unrest

1.Delayed reports - just emerging - confirm that protests did indeed take place around the country on July 9th. We also have authentication of mass arrests during this time. Reports of black-outs during Ahmadinejad's speech are now being confirmed by mainstream media as well (this was confirmed on twitter three days ago).

2.Vast weekly protests and the heavy presence of Basiji's have had a negative impact on Iranian bazaars; they are finding it harder and harder to stay open. As a result, commerce is slowly coming to a standstill. Reports indicate that the opposition is in the midst of planning more strikes and protests. Today, about 150 protesters pelted eggs at the German Embassy in Tehran protesting against the death of an Egyptian woman in Germany at the hands of a right-wing extremist.

3.People in Tehran are continuing to honk their horns at the sight of Basijis - and chanting anti-government slogans while speeding away. Many people drive with their headlights on. Reports indicate that many Basijis are quitting their jobs and are being replaced by fresh recruits, many of them under 18. People travelling to Iran are being targeted at the airport upon entry and are being forced to divulge their Twitter and Facebook accounts so the government can monitor their online activity.

Opposition

4.In a letter to the Head of the Judiciary, Mahdi Karoubi – one of the candidates during the election and a key force behind the current protests – asked for the immediate release of all political prisoners as well as arrested protesters. In a letter addressed to Ayatollah Shahrodi, Karoubi claimed that, "People believed in the system, however, the system had been hijacked by a few." He accused Tehran's authorities of systematically eradicating opposition. He warned the government of "unimaginable consequences" if the current situation persisted.

5.Ayatollah Montazeri has released a Fatwa that is very supportive of protesters and their cause. In the Fatwa, Montazeri "condemned violence against protesters as un-Islamic." He's pleaded with the government to not play with the name of Shi'ism and Islam with their actions. He hinted that Khamenei's leadership is standing against Islam, human rationale and National interests – and that he was clearly in the wrong. Reports of Ayatollah Ustadi - Qom's temporary Friday Prayer's Imam - resigning his position and calling a strike could not be confirmed.

6.In an open letter released to the media, the women's wing of Mousavi's Participation Front have said that Iranian mothers were awaiting the release of their loved ones with teary eyes and aching hearts. They asked the government to immediately release all prisoners and to stop arresting people for using peaceful means to express their dissent.

Government / International

7.Iranian Foreign Minister, Manuchehr Motaki, has stated that Iran is willing to discuss issues with the West, but claimed that the government was going to present a package of issues for discussion – rather than just one. This comes at a time when the European Union has now fully suspended visas to Iranian diplomats who wish to enter any EU member nation.

8.The spokesperson for Parliament's Imam's Way Faction declared that the government's legitimacy was "questionable" after what transpired post-election. Reports from Tehran indicate that many members within the Faction are thinking of not partaking in the "vote of confidence" that will be held in Parliament soon (the President selects a cabinet, and then a vote of confidence takes place). The spokesperson added that, "When a Cabinet Minister refuses to answer to the public, then it shouldn't expect to get a vote of confidence."

9.Tehran's Police Chief has declared a state of emergency in parts of Tehran. Iran's government removed the head of security of Zanjan Province - after reports surfaced that he may be sympathetic to the reform movement. A number of prominent citizens in Tabriz have written a letter to Khamenei declaring that, "people were not satisfied with the election and that they will continue to voice their opposition to Ahmadinejad's government."

10. One of Mousavi's offices, located inside the Presidential Palace, was evacuated by government orders. Mousavi used this office during the last twenty years after leaving the Prime Minister's Post. It was NOT his campaign headquarters. Meanwhile, the government is stepping up its media campaign of discrediting Mousavi's role in Iran's past. This comes at a time when a large number of Iranian clerics in Qom have reportedly threatened to leave Iran for Najaf, Iraq (Najaf is the holiest site in Shi'ism and Qom is a center of Shi'ite learning). They demanded the government to cease with their relentless pressure to side with them.

Arrested / Released / Killed

11. Reports from inside Evin Prison indicate that at least one prisoner has died under extreme torture. The prisoner is the son of a member of the group of Mourning Mothers and was reportedly named Sohrab A'rabi. Reports of torturous acts had been confirmed before, but recent details reveal more extreme forms such as:

oBinding and then beating prisoners with batons oForcing prisoners to lay on their wounded side – on hot asphalt oPouring scorching-hot water over prisoners' heads

12.Reports of more than a dozen prisoners crammed into a 9 x 9 foot cell are increasing. Other reports indicate that the prison is so overcrowded that prisoners are now being thrown into cells that are half-demolished. Prisoners are interrogated non-stop for more than 12 hours. Injured prisoners are not receiving any medical attention - many are said to be in very bad conditions.

13. Iran is now holding 36 journalists in prison. Reports indicate that despite the overcrowding, nearly 150 protesters arrested on July 9th in Tehran were moved to Evin Prison. We don't have confirmations to the number of people arrested, but without a place to go. The arrest of many people were confirmed today - among them: Abbas Mirza Abutalebi (a reformist politician), Majid Saidi and Towheed Begi (photojournalists), Kaveh Muzaffari (a journalist who been detained and released prior), Shamsuddin Esaie (a key aide of Mousavi), and Hengameh Shaheedi (a key member of Etemaade Melli Party).

14. On a positive note, Iranian courts postponed the court date for seven Baha'is detained in Tehran today. They are being prosecuted under Iran's strict religious laws because of their faith. Reports also indicate that Kambiz Noroozi, a journalist detained yesterday, was released. The families of several detainees have pleaded directly to influential clerics in Qom to help attain the release of their loved ones.

Media

15. In an unexpected move, ISNA – one of Iran's official news agencies – declared that recent unrests in China's Xinjiang Autonomous Province was provoked by US intervention in Chinese affairs. ISNA declared that China did all it could to quell an uprising fueled by foreign intervention.

Green Brief #18-19

I'm NiteOwl AKA Josh Shahryar - twitter.com/iran_translator on twitter - and I've been immersed in tweets from Iran for the past several hours. I have tried to be extremely careful in choosing my tweet sources. What I have compiled below is what I can confirm through my reliable twitter sources. Remember, this is all from tweets. (My work is released under Creative Commons (CC). So use it freely. A big apology for not being able to brief yesterday. I was in a different city and the internet connection at the hotel was just...)


These are the important happenings that I can positively confirm from Saturday and Sunday, July 4-5 in Iran.


Protests

1. The head of the IRGC – one of the various security forces used to quell protesters – claimed today that the BBC and the British Embassy were the main instigators directing ‘rioters’. Brigadier General Abdullah Iraqi (Iraqi is just a last name) claimed that the government did not deal with the protesters harshly in the beginning – although it could have. Among his many outrageous claims was that ‘rioters’ hauled other injured ‘rioters’ from ambulances and killed them. He also claimed that ‘rioters’ injured 600 IRGC officers and that 8 officers had been killed in the line of duty.

2. Monday 6 July at 5 PM Iran time, the families of some Iranians who have been detained at Evin Prison plan on gathering in front of the prison with flowers and gifts in recognition of Father’s Day. Around 5000 workers at the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Plantation the city of Shosh in Khuzestan province have gone on strike – although said to be in solidarity with the Sea of Green, this could not be independently confirmed. Although said to be still in the planning phase, reports indicate the government has already started planting cameras in areas of Tehran where protesters have gathered in huge numbers in the past. It is said to be a way for pinpointing individual protesters for arrests and also better coordination of security forces in case of protests. It is interesting to note that Ahmadinejad has opposed the idea.

3. Heavy sand storms have hit Tehran and according to sources within the city, the entire city is affected by low visibility. Confirmed reports indicate that protesters are quietly going through the city and writing anti-government slogans on city walls, using the storm to their advantage.

4. Recently, a lot of news has been circulating about IRG and military clashes over how to deal with protests. Although we’ve been hearing a lot about it, the more reliable twitter sources have not been able to confirm anything in this regard.


Opposition

5. Mehdi Karoubi today stated that they will continue to fight even though it looks as if resistance will become more difficult. He mocked Ahmadinejad for ordering a probe into Neda Agha-Soltan’s death while many more people have been killed in the unrests. He claimed that the government had completely ruined the reputation of the Basij by ordering it to act violently during the protests. He further asked the government to stop the spree-killings during protests.

7. Reliable sources have indicated that Mir Hossein Mousavi will be creating a new party in order to further their goals of nullifying the election. Among the many instances of fraud in the election that have been claimed by Mousavi is the alleged printing of 20 million extra votes by the government in order to fill boxes with votes for Ahmadinejad.

8. It is continually being hinted that Rafsanjani is working frantically behind doors to find a solution to the current stalemate. Reports indicate that he has stepped up pressure on the Guardian Council and is working to weaken their sway over the security forces as well as the Iranian regime. Nothing is fully confirmed at this point, although the sources who have reported this are quit reliable. In a meeting with families of detainees, he said that what has happened since the election has been a bitter experience and that Iranians should join hands and help make the regime stable in the long-term.3

9. Several high-ranking officials within the government or related to government officials have been disowned by their parents. In the latest case, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s son-in-law was disowned by his father. Mahdi Khorsheedi’s father said on Saturday that he no longer had a son named Mahdi because Mahdi Khorsheedi had sided with Ahmadinejad in the post-election unrest.


Arrests, Releases, Fatalities

10. Isa Saharkhiz, a prominent Iranian journalist and founder of IAPPF (Iranian Association for Protection of Press Freedom) was arrested on Friday. Another reformist and member of Musharekat Party (IIPF), Jalal Mohammadlou was arrested while on his way to the hospital. Two prominent members of Musharekat Party, Saeed Hajjarian and Mohsen Amin-Zadeh, both of whom had already been arrested and released earlier in the uprising, have now been transferred to an IRG hospital in Tehran. According to sources, Hajjarian is in failing health.

11. Masood Bastani, an Iranian journalist and the husband of detained Iranian journalist Mehsa Amrabadi, was detained while he was at court seeking information about his wife. Mahsa was detained 20 days ago and is with child. Their house had previously been raided, but Masood hadn’t been home while the security forces caused serious damage to their property.

12. It has now been confirmed that the lone UK Embassy staffer in custody is being charged with endangering Iranian national security and is the Embassy’s senior political analyst. Most detainees that were arrested in the post-election unrest have been charged with attempting to endanger national security. So far, 20 journalists are also in Iranian prisons. A Greek-born American journalist working for the Washington Times has now been released by the Iranian government. Bita Samimi Rad, a leftist student activist, has now also been released from Evin Prison.

13. Members of Mourning Mothers, a group that was formed by mothers of detained protesters to seek their release, who had been arrested in Laleh Park last week have now been freed. The group has planned more gatherings in Tehran in the next week to try and seek the release of their loved ones.

14. Hamid Maddah, a core member of Mousavi’s campaign in Mashhad, died in custody on Saturday. He had been arrested in Gowharshad Mosque along with many other Mousavi supporters. According to sources, he had been tortured badly and wasn’t able to recover. The official death certificate registers the cause of death as internal bleeding in the skull.
15. There are reports surfacing of the wide-spread use of torture and intimidation in Evin prison. Protesters are regularly beaten, sources claim, and there have been instances of male protesters being raped. Unconfirmed reports also indicate of several protesters being hanged at Evin and in Mashhad, but they cannot be confirmed at this point.


Government / International / Clergy

16. The Association of Researchers and Teachers of Qom released a statement on Saturday calling the election invalid and the government formed by it illegitimate. The association boasts within its ranks respected clerics and Shi’ite teachers that reside in the holy city of Qom, a center for Islamic learning for Shi’ites. It had been reported before, on the Green Briefs and other outlets, that there were intense negotiations going on in Qom. This seems to be only the tip of the iceberg and sources indicate more is soon to follow in the form of support for reformists and protesters.

17. Ahmadinejad on Saturday told a meeting of medical school deans that he wanted to hold negotiations with President Barack Obama before the media. He stated that he would go to the United Nations and ask President Obama for the opportunity. The White House has not released any comments about the offer. Ahmadinejad also indicated the Iran will pursue more active diplomacy in his second term.

18. Ayatollah Hashemi Shahrodi, the head of Iran’s judiciary, asked courts throughout the country to prosecute people who are aiding protesters through websites. He has also ordered an overall clampdown on anyone ‘using any means’ to help protesters. Furthermore, Sharhodi has ordered the prosecution of people who’re ‘helping to spread lies about Iran through satellite channels’.

19. In Kordestan province, the government has started to compile a list of supporters of opposition candidates. The list is supposedly being prepared to make the work of security forces easier when arresting unwanted elements. As sit-ins at mosques were used by protesters to show their discontent, the doors of several mosques in Tehran have now been closed. There are notes hanging on the doors telling people that the mosques are closed to Etekaaf, a form of religious sit-in at mosques where people pray to Allah and ask for forgiveness.

20. Mohammad Mollabashi, a government official in the Ministry of Education, has stated that students who have been active in ‘riots’ will not be permitted to pursue their education in Iran.


Media / Communications

21. Fars News alleged on Sunday that Mousavi’s campaign headquarters was nothing but a meeting point for sexual-deviant Iranian youth. He claimed that many of these people wanted to help Mousavi to gain sexual freedom. The editor-in-chief of Keyhan newspaper has said that any party formed by Mousavi is illegal as Mousavi’s responsible for spilling Iranians’ blood.

22. Several prominent television personalities have now been banned from IRIB. The editor of Etemaade Melli newspaper was again summoned on Sunday by the public prosecutor’s office in Tehran. He was there to answer accusations of involvement in ‘riots’ by the newspaper’s staff and support for them by the newspaper.



Read this if you want to help or get help!

Helpers:

A. I would like to ask all the people translating the Breifs to take a break today and not translate this brief as it is far too long and the next one will be coming out shortly anyway. I will send you a link to the new one via email soon as it’s done. (Probably in about 12 hours).

B. Anonymous has been faithfully running this forum for the past three weeks besides their regular website. The amount of traffic and the extra content has added to their costs of running their servers. If you want to help monetarily, you can check out their donation page at: General Expense - Why We Protest

C: If you would like to help out with compiling all the news stories from Iran in a geo-spatial context, please request for sub-editorship at #iran.aic - WebIRC - AnonNet - Check out the website for the project at: Iran Map | Iran Map or email me at dbosca@gmail.com.

D. The government in Iran is still increasing internet filtering and throttling in an attempt to silence their people. Anonymous info shows that many in Iran are looking for proxy and Tor information in Tehran and all around the country. Please donate your bandwidth to help bring down the Iran Curtain. Here are links on how to help and get help on this:

English:

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor and the Iranian Election - Bring down the Iran Curtain | Ian's Brain

Farsi:

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor: آنلاين Tor

[B]Help us set up more bridges on Tor here:

Gonzo Times � Torrents List (82 videos)

Green Brief #16

I'm NiteOwl AKA Josh Shahryar - twitter.com/iran_translator on twitter - and I've been immersed in tweets from Iran for the past several hours. I have tried to be extremely careful in choosing my tweet sources. What I have compiled below is what I can confirm through my reliable twitter sources. Remember, this is all from tweets. [B](My work is released under Creative Commons (CC). So use it freely)

These are the important happenings that I can positively confirm from Thursday, July 02 in Iran.

In Italian: Gonzo Times � Blog Archive � 02/07/2009: Report di fine giornata


Protests

1. Thousands of people gathered at Iran’s Beheshte Zahra Cemetery and other smaller cemeteries to mourn the people who’ve died in the protests. The numbers were hard to confirm, but various sources claimed somewhere between 10-15 thousands. Large numbers of Basijis were reported to have been stationed in and around Beheshte Zahra, but no clashes were reported. Shopkeepers in Tabriz shopkeepers have reportedly stopped their strikes because of government intimidation and threats by the Basijis.

2. Mousavi’s Facebook page asked for protesters to form a human chain on Sunday, however, this could not be confirmed through other sources. This while about 120 women from the group Mourning Mothers gathered at Laleh Park again today and lit candles in memory of the fallen protesters. They have planned mass gatherings in Laleh, Andisheh and Mellat parks for July 4. Some relatives of detainees gathered in front of Evin Prison again today and asked for the release of their loved ones.


Government / International

3. Hard-line parliament members today again called on the Judiciary to prosecute Mousavi for allegedly breaking the law by calling protests and for instigating violence. The call had been made in the past as well and several state-run newspapers have also made similar demands in the past few days. Unconfirmed reports from Qom and Khorasan indicate that more clerics are considering to denounce the government’s actions in the past week and to declare the protests legitimat

4. Samareh Hashemi, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s campaign manager, told PressTV today that the SMS outage and cell phone service restrictions were put in place to "ensure security" during and after the election. He added that Mousavi wasn’t really an opposition leader because he’s views closely matched those of the governments. He claimed that all the candidates fully know that the election was as impartial as any and that no voting fraud had taken place.
5. More international pressure is being mounted as in a meeting next week; EU member nations will consider pulling their ambassadors from Iran because of the government’s actions. Russia’s foreign ministry announced today that Russia opposed international sanctions against Iran and that the election and its aftermath were Iran’s internal issues that needed to be dealt with by Iranians, MosNews reported. A former Justice Minister of Canada, Irwin Cotler, has asked the international community to ban Ahmadinejad from entering their countries, Deutsche-Welle reported.
6. An Egyptian lawyer belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, Mamdouh Ismail, has filed a complaint in the prosecutor general’s office in Egypt asking them to ban Ahmadinejad from entering Egypt next month to attend a diplomatic meeting there. He has accused him of winning the election fraudulently and insulting two of Prophet Mohammed’s companions. This was reported on Al-Arabiya’s website.


Arrests, Casualties, Releases

7. Seven people were arrested in Qazvin today in connection with the protests. The head of Participation Front in Hormozgan province, Mr. Ramezanpour, was arrested there today. The government-owned media now claims that 20 people have died in the post-election protests. Real numbers are hard to obtain, but the number is reportedly much more than what the Iranian media reported. Iranian journalists Maryam Ameri and Omid Mohaddes were released from prison today in Tehran.

8. However, Saeed Hajjarian – a prominent politician and backer of Mousavi – is being said to be in deteriorating health. Amnesty International today once again called upon the government to release Hajjarian. On Wednesday News Week asked Iran for immediate release of their reporter Maziar Bahari who had been detained earlier and rejected accusations by the Iranian media that Bahari had a hand in the post-election violence. He was arrested on June 21 and has been denied access to a lawyer.

9. Meanwhile media reports of six protesters being hanged in Evin were denied by the government. Iranian Students News Agency reported on their website that the six people were accused of killing their spouses and other people. They didn’t indicate that any of the people were implicated because of any involvement in the protests.

10. Interpol today denied that the witness to Neda Agha-Soltan’s death is wanted by the Interpol. They also denied receiving any requests from the Iranian government for his arrest. Iranian media and government have claimed that the witness, Arash Hejazi, was wanted by the Interpol. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the Iranian government’s intelligence agencies as well as the Ministry of Islamic Guidance are compiling a list of Iranian journalists which will be barred from traveling abroad.

11. Reports of torture at Evin and other Iranian prisons are mounting. Some sources claim that detainees are being beaten every night and others are being water-boarded with hot water in order to get confessions from them.


Statements

12. Yet another Ayatollah has joined the cause of the protesters. Ayatollah Bayat-Zanjani today said that demand for justice and protesting for one’s rights was legal. He also denounced the suppression of protesters and called the act illegitimate. He asked Mousavi to stand for justice and help people get their rights. Zanjani joins Ayatollahs Taheri, Ghaffari and Montazeri in their support for the cause of the protesters. Karoubi announced again today that he would not recognize the government and would continue to stand by people demanding for their rights till the end of his life.

13. It has also been reported that Rafsanjani, who is also one of the Imams who rotate leading Friday prayers in Tehran’s largest mosques, has for the second week decided to not lead the prayers. Last week, his spot was first filled by Khamenei, but Khamenei pulled out at the last minute leaving Ahmad Khatami to lead the prayers. Rafsanjani is not planning to attend this Friday's prayer either.


Media

14. Parlemaan News’ website has been blocked by the government. The website was one of the only remaining sources of impartial news for the Iranian people. The government closed it after it posted several of Mousavi’s statements and Khatami’s criticism of the government. Parlemaan News – parlemaan means parliament in persian – is the official news webstie of the Imam’s Way faction of MP’s in the Iranian parliament. They had been warned last week by security forces and the Judiciary to restrict criticism of the government.

15. The BBC reported today that the Kingdom of Jordan had banned Iran’s state-run Al-Alam and Press TV stations from broadcasting in Jordan and revoked their operation permits. Al-Alam broadcasts news in Arabic and Press TV is the main English language news channel of Iran. The latter today showed footage of what it called ‘thugs attacking Basiji Headquarters in Tehran’ which showed several protesters chanting in front of the headquarters at an unspecified date. The footage didn’t show any of the ‘thugs’ actually using any of Molotov cocktails they were holding.


COMMUNICATIONS

16. Even though SMS was back in Tehran yesterday, reports indicate that it has been cut-off once again. Sources indicated that they’d asked twitter users from Tehran to not text each other using the service because it could be a ploy by the government to find dissidents. There are reports that Iran’s main telecom companies were trained in China in how to how weed out dissidents using their data posted on the net as well as monitoring and other techniques.

17. Even though yesterday’s news of four unopened ballot boxes being found in Shiraz couldn’t be verified, reliable sources indicate that the governor of Fars province where Shiraz is located announced today that the boxes were from past elections. He added that they will be stored as national documents. Mohammad Reza Nasab-Abdollahi, the journalist that broke the news, has been reportedly intimidated by the government and is being pressured to recant his report and deny the claim.

18. Chants of Allah o Akbar again echoed across Iran. Reports have suggested that dozens of people – in some cases the residents of entire apartment buildings – have been arrested by Basijis for chanting on their rooftops at night. Residents in Northern Tehran have also been warned that they could either stop chanting or risk losing their satellite antennas – which are illegal in the country, but widely owned by the public.

Read this if you want to help or get help!

Helpers:

A. We currently are trying to get the Brief out in as many languages as possible. If you can translate the brief for us in a language other than English, Italian, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch or Greek, please let us know. It comes out every day so it'll be an every day thing so it's for the long haul. But if you can even do a summary, it will be great! Email me on dbosca@gmail.com if you're interested.

B. You could retweet this link and let more people know about what’s going in Iran.

C. The government in Iran is still increasing internet filtering and throttling in an attempt to silence their people. Anonymous info shows that many in Iran are looking for proxy and Tor information in Tehran and all around the country. Please donate your bandwidth to help bring down the Iran Curtain. Here are links on how to help and get help on this:

English:

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor and the Iranian Election - Bring down the Iran Curtain | Ian's Brain

Farsi:

Tor Browser Bundle

Tor: ?????? Tor

Help us set up more bridges on Tor here: http://gonzotimes.net/?page_id=500

Green Brief #8

(Reposted from the original site)

I'm Josh Shahryar AKA NiteOwl - twitter.com/iran_translator on twitter - and I've been immersed in tweets from Iran for the past several hours. I have tried to be extremely careful in choosing my tweet sources. What I have compiled below is what I can confirm through my reliable twitter sources. Remember, this is all from tweets. No news media outlets have been used. (There was precious little today to offer so I waited very long)

These are the important happenings that I can positively confirm from Tuesday, June 24 in Iran.

1. 1. The event of the day was the protest held at Baharestan Square in the late afternoon. Although the exact number cannot be fully known, my sources claimed somewhere between 5,000-10,000 people tried to join the rally. Things got violent when security forces that had been waiting there for hours moved in as soon as a small crowd had managed to gather. They used force to brutalize the protesters and scatter them faster then they could regroup. Police were also patrolling the areas around Baharestan and people were attacked even as they fled Baharestan and go to the outer edges of the area. This continued for at least two hours.
   
2. Force was utilized without discrimination; however, media reports about a complete massacre cannot be confirmed by my more reliable sources. What I can confirm is at least 3 people were killed; the police used batons to beat people quite viciously - leaving dozens injured, not just in Baharestan but also in the areas around Baharestan. Shots were also fired and at least 2 of the fatalities were as a result of gunfire. Tear gas was also used to disperse them. We cannot confirm the use of axes on protesters. It could have been isolated incidents. But a wide-spread use cannot be confirmed. There were reports of killings at Lalehzar as well. Lalezhzar is a park in Tehran which has been completely taken over by security forces and is being used as a quasi-de fact base. Pictures are scarce and videos cannot be confirmed at this point either. The police were checking cell phones throughout the area as well as in other parts of the city and deleting images or videos or confiscating the phone altogether.
   
   (I have to add a personal note here. I am not anti-protester and neither am I against the freedom of Iran from the grips of such a repressive regime. The Green Briefs are VERY one-sided and TOTALLY pro-protester. However, I think the event was overblown partly because the people who participated were terrorized by the brute nature of the event and at the same time, the word 'massacre' got lost in translation a little. I apologize if you find my denial of this outrageous, but I will not confirm something like this. It could easily be a government ploy to scare people from joining further protests.)
   
3. The area was surrounded also by vans and cars belonging to the security forces. Injured protesters and those protesters the police could hold onto were promptly thrown into these vehicles and moved to undisclosed locations. It has been suggested that Evin prison is being used to house most of the prisoners, but the sheer number of protesters easily could mean that make-shift prisons have been built around Tehran to house these people. Some sources indicated as well, but this cannot be confirmed right away. Most shops around Baharestan were closed so people had nowhere to hide. Cell phone service was also jammed so no help could arrive for those stranded and the vicious and wide-spread beatings and arrests could continue.
   
4. The security forces were being heavily helped by helicopters. They flew all over the city and informed security forces of places where people had gathered. Security forces arrived in minutes and dispersed crowd. However, people were extremely persistent. Gatherings and small rallies took place in several places and the quicker they were dispersed the quicker more sprang up. This continued late into the night until people dispersed on their own. The sheer tenacity of the protesters is heartening and many twitter sources indicated that no matter what happens they will go to streets and protest. Hezbollah e Ansar were also spotted from time to time. Plainclothesmen also did their part of the arrests as they drove around the city in motorcycles.
   
5. There were also other arrests in Iran today. At least 70 university professors and other professionals held a meeting today with Mousavi at the end of which, all of them were arrested as they exited the meeting area. Reports also confirm that Mousavi's chief lawyer, Ardsher Amir Arjman has also been arrested. There is no real confirmation of whether Mousavi has been arrested or he's free. However, there are strong indications and SOME sources that claim he is currently under house arrest. For a partial list, please click here: [link removed due to being malformed]
   
6. Several foreign nationals were arrested today as well. Among them is Iason Athanasiadis - a Greek national who works for the Washington Times. The identity of other people detained cannot be confirmed at this point. The media lockdown is continuing in Iran as the government tries to stop the spread of news of what's happening inside the country. Saw a quote that I wanted to share by an Iranian twitter user: "Saving Iran... one tweet at a time!"
   
7. As reported before, Mohsen Rezaei is being reported to have withdrawn his complaints regarding the election. However, it seems that his office believes he has been sidelined by the government through pressure and intimidation. His office today told the Guardian Council that that they need to tell the people the real reason why they quit or they will publish the real reasons themselves. Reports also abound that Rafsanjani is preparing a plan of action and will make an announcement on Friday, but this cannot be fully confirmed. Mousavi, Rafsanjani and Rezaei also held a meeting with officials from the National Security Committee of Iran. No news as to the issues debated or decisions made can be confirmed yet.
   
8. The chants of Allah o Akbar continued throughout the night in Tehran and reports indicate that it also occurred in many cities around the country. Confirmed reports also indicate that plainclothesmen put some trees on fire near the homes of people who were chanting in Sharake Gharb. It is being reported that on June 25 at 1 PM, people will fly ceremonial balloons from their homes. The balloons will be green to symbolize the movement and black for the dead protesters. Reports indicate that tomorrow's mourning rallies in Tehran have been canceled as well. (I will no longer post information about protests that are to come here. Too many Iran-gov people are reading this and it might help them.)
   
9. Khamanei spoke to a meeting of members of the Majlis of Iran (Majlis = Parliament). Click here to read it: Khamenei Speech to Parliamentarians June 24 (Excerpts English) - Why We Protest – IRAN
   
10. Finally, reports indicate that the Iranian ambassador in Copenhagen has 'threatened' the Danish government by telling them that they are watching the Danish media very closely...
    Read this if you want to help or get help!

The government in Iran is still increasing internet filtering and throttling in an attempt to silence their people. Anonymous info shows that many in Iran are looking for proxy and Tor information in Tehran and all around the country. Please donate your bandwidth to help bring down the Iran Curtain. Here are links on how to help and get help on this:

English: Tor and the Iranian Election - Bring down the Iran Curtain | Ian's Brain

Fars: Tor: ?????? Tor

For the more savvy, try these if you want to connect from Iran:

67.174.201.136:9001 AE4DE948A8F37F18D886C5545F375AB246647837
(trad. tor port)

67.174.201.136:3074 AE4DE948A8F37F18D886C5545F375AB246647837
(xbox live port)

(Thanks to Alexander)

Images and vids and instructions on how to send them to us:

[Link malformed; removed.]

Helpers with expertise in the field of medecine, translation and such:

“Medici Cu Internet is a collaboration between piratbyran.org, HackersWithoutBorders and werebuild.eu trying to organize contacts with medical expertise online since there are problems in Iran with hospitals being monitored by the government. Join the IRC-channel at #mci-ir - WebIRC - AnonNet or send an email to us at embassy [at] piratbyran.org for more info. Medical experts, Farsi-translators and people who know the medical situation in iran are welcome to join and collaboratively set up an index with common injuries and their best treatments.”

People Outside Iran: This is as clear and concise as I can be. I have not included ANYTHING that I have sensed to be remotely fishy, but humans always err.

People Inside Iran: Don't believe a WORD of what I am telling you. Do what you think is best, keeping everything in mind. I know LITTLE of what you know so make your decisions based on your OWN judgment.

P.S. Please post this around and tweet and retweet.