Young Iranian Sentenced To Death
The revolutionary court has sentenced 21-year-old Amir-Reza Arefi to death on the charge of being a member of the Kingdom Assembly of Iran, his lawyer Mohammad Mostafaie writes on his Web site. The same court also sentenced Arash Rahmanipour and Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani to death on the same charge, and they were executed on January 28.
Human rights activist Goudarz Eghtedari tells Radio Farda the courts that issue such sentences are suspect. “The judiciary authorities associate these people with an organization about which no one knows anything,” he says.
The court has also accused Arefi of attempting to plant bombs during Iran’s presidential elections, but Eghtedari says Arefi was arrested two months before the elections took place.
Unnamed Citizen Journalists Awarded For Neda Video
The unknown people who filmed the death of Iranian protester Neda Agha Soltan have been chosen to receive the prestigious George Polk Award for journalism. Neda’s death during Iran’s post-election unrest has become the symbol of the Iranian protest movement.
Arash Hejazi, the doctor who was present at Neda’s death and tried to save her life tells Radio Farda the impact of this video on world support for the Green Movement in Iran is undeniable. “That’s why the Iranian government has resorted to anything during the last six to seven months to say that this film is unreliable," Hejazi says. "However, this award shows that no one believes the government.”