Iran’s youth speaks out through blogs

June 14th, 2009 · No Comments · politics

IRAN: A Nation Of Bloggers from ayrakus on Vimeo.

Apparently, Iran has the third most blogs of any country in the world. Quite a stat.

But as the Huffington post reports, Twitter, Facebook and many other websites including the mobile phone network has been made inaccessible, presumably by the government, the last few days.

It seems some Twitter messages are getting through though, and (on the Huffington post’s recommendtion) you can follow the account of Farhad (@change_for_iran) @keyvan and @IranRiggedElect.

The Huffington Post has done a very good job ‘curating’ all the information about the violence in Iraq. Grabbing videos from YouTube, pictures from Flickr. And there are a few. The ubiquitous of mobile technology including mobiles with video is making for lots of footage. The following video I found on the Huffington post shows police beating women at a bus stop. One of the women kicks back and gets set upon by three policemen.

This one filmed from behind a wall shows Iranian police running from crowds.

Veteran journalist Robert Fisk is in Theran – wish he was on Twitter- but this is his account in today’s Independent:

“Thus did I arrive opposite the Interior Ministry as the police brought their prisoners back from the front line down the road. The first was a green-pullovered youth of perhaps 15 or 16 who was frog-marched by two uniformed paramilitary police to a van with a cage over the back. He was thrown on the steel floor, then one of the cops climbed in and set about him with his baton. Behind me, more than 20 policemen, sweating after a hard morning’s work bruising the bones of their enemies, were sitting on the steps of a shop, munching through pre-packed luncheon boxes. One smiled and offered me a share. Politely declined, I need hardly add.

They watched – and I watched – as the next unfortunate was brought to the cage-van. In a shirt falling over his filthy trousers, he was beaten outside the vehicle, kicked in the balls, and then beaten on to a seat at the back of the vehicle. Another cop climbed in and began batoning him in the face. The man was howling with pain. Another cop came – and this, remember, was in front of dozens of other security men, in front of myself, an obvious Westerner, and many women in chadors who were walking on the opposite pavement, all staring in horror at the scene.

Now another policeman, in an army uniform, climbed into the vehicle, tied the man’s hands behind his back with plastic handcuffs, took out his baton and whacked him across the face. The prisoner was in tears but the blows kept coming; until more young men arrived for their torment. Then more police vans arrived and ever more prisoners to be beaten. All were taken in these caged trucks to the basement of the Interior Ministry. I saw them drive in.”