Protestors Raped in Custody Go Public
September 19 -- A student who had been detained during Iran's post-election protests and was later released told Radio Farda that he had been raped while in custody. "I didn't want to make the rape issue public," said Ebrahim Sharif. "After I was released and went to the police to file a complaint, they told me not to pursue the case. They said: 'It was the work of the Intelligence Ministry, let it go. You've been released; you should thank God you're still alive.'" [read in Farsi or English]
September 23 -- Maryam Sabri, who was arrested for participating in Neda Agha Soltan's memorial, said that officials first threatened to kill her if she did not cooperate. Later, they raped her. "It was the second or third day that they took me to a room blindfolded, telling me they wanted to ‘return my vote'…he first interrogated and then undressed me. No matter how I begged and cried, he didn't care," she said. "I was raped 4 or 5 times, and each time I heard a different voice." [read in Farsi]
Post-Election Protests Break Out on Al-Quds Day
September 18 -- Defying warnings, Iranian protestors took to the streets of Tehran and other cities on Al-Quds Day, an annual state-sponsored day of anti-Zionist protest, to continue their post-election demonstrations. A witness in Tehran said many people carried green symbols, a sign of the opposition movement, and chanted the phrase "Neither Gaza, Nor Lebanon, I Give my Life for Iran." Another said people wearing green shits and wristbands were arrested. A witness in the southern city of Shiraz said Revolutionary Guards threw tear gas at protesters and beat them with batons. [read in Farsi]
The next day, an expert told Radio Farda that the Iranian people had used the regime's own tools against the regime itself. "People emptied Quds Day of its usual political and religious content, and replaced it with their own demands," he said. [read in Farsi]
Prominent Journalist in Prison for 100 Days Reportedly Beaten
September 23 – The wife of jailed journalist Ahmad Zeidabadi said that her husband has been pressured to read false statements in court. "His interrogator has beaten Ahmad violently and told him that he was ordered to crush him," she said. "Ahmad told me that his key charge was writing an open letter to the Supreme Leader two and a half years ago; I wonder why they're bringing it up after presidential elections." [listen in Farsi]
Families of Detained Reformists Arrested
September 20 – Journalist Saeed Razavifaghih said that a new wave of arrests was aimed at pressuring noted imprisoned political activists who have continued their resistance, despite mounting pressure. Among those arrested, is the son of Mohsen Mirdamadi, the imprisoned leader of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, and several members of his organization. Two journalists, who were active in former presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi's campaign, were also arrested. [listen in Farsi]