Iran Election Stories From Friends and Family

From Shiraz today:

Saturday, November 21, 2009  Tension Rises

100 University of Shiraz professors and students in the Engineering Department met to discuss what to do about the students being held in prison. Some Basiji professors attended too. The despised university president was invited, but declined to attend. The purpose of the forum was to explore what to do in the short term (imprisoned students) and long term (allowing students to organize into unions or have a forum to speak freely), as students are not allowed to organize or hold discussions in any manner on campus.  The meetings will continue. Right now the Intelligence Ministry is not giving fellow students, professors or parents information on where the imprisoned students are being held or in what condition they are. The administration is the one who calls them into their disciplinary offices and then turns them over to the security forces. Shame Dr. Sadeghi! All in the hopes of having a ‘silent’ University Students’ Day on December 7th to your credit! I can’t imagine ever sending my child (or encouraging anyone to send their children) to an Iranian university after this!

I over heard a conversation in which one woman was relaying a story, told by a relative in Tehran who is serving his 2-year mandatory military duty. He said that on 13 Aban (November 4) he was on the streets along with the IRCG – Sepah forces. A 50 year-old woman as sitting on the side of the road holding up the picture of a young man. The soldier’s boss (I am not sure what rank) told the woman to leave as the Sepah would bother her. She responded that they had already killed her son this summer, so she did not care – they couldn’t take anything else from her. The leader tried to get her to leave again. She refused. Eventually the Sepah forces overtook her and beat her up, leaving her in a ditch. The military leader went over to help her and the Sepah lit into him, beating him so severely that he was coughing up blood himself.
Their tactic is to isolate and destroy. If one person tries to help another (even if they are other security personnel) they attack the helper just as ruthlessly.