This is the hole, now filled, in which they stoned Jafar Kiani. Source: Meydaan.

Asieh Amini went to the place where they stoned Jafar Kiani. Her account is so powerful, and horrible, that I decided to translate the rather long piece to English. Fortunately, before I managed to do so, she, or her friends in the campaign, did it. I do recommend to read the whole piece, either in Persian or in English.

I went there with no specific purpose in mind. A man named Jafar Kiani had been stoned to death last Thursday between noon and 2 p.m. in the vicinity of Takestan. I write this to transport the ambiance of that place to those who ask: “what was going on there?” or “what did you see?.

Aghche Kand is a village 7 kilometer outside Takestan. A brisk wind is blowing and the ground is dry. The foothills across Aghche Kand are yellowish….

Stones and rocks with dried up curdled blood lay around the heap. Some are splashed with blood. Some are so black and red with blood, you know right away what they were used for. Stunned, I ask, “You mean they threw these stones? These are way too big”. He shrugs his shoulders.

Thanks to Esther for the tip to the English translation.

Ali Asghar Karandish, elections’ deputy of the ministry of state, stated in an interview with IRNA, “Candidates for the coming parliamentary elections are banned from using posters … [and many other types of urban advertisements]“. As of what is legal, he listed, “publishing their biography and interviewing with the media and websites are legal. Whichever candidate acts against this rule will be prosecuted accordingly”. Knowing that there is no free radio or television station in Iran, and that only a few newspapers are published which are not run by the states, and even they have to comply with a plethora of guidelines, many of which are not written anywhere, this is an obvious doping for the benefit of candidates close to the current administration.

In other developments, a group of parliament members are planning to suggest a law which would allow for campaigning as Iranians are used to see. While a right-wing MP calls the law, “A move towards people’s rights, by not having posters attached to the walls of their houses”, another right-wing MP calls it “a selfish decision which reduces turnout”. A reformist MP says “in many rural areas there is no other way to communicate to people other than using posters”. Read Guardian’s piece on this subject.

Thanks to Siavush for the tip.