It was in the news that,

Coinciding with the appropriation of a 5 billion Toman ($5,000,000) budget for a new ministry of ?communications project to filter websites and blogs, Tehran’s deputy public prosecutor, ?Mahmoud Salarkia announced, “A special court to examine electronic and computer-?related crimes will be established.”

Vahid Nikgou, the ?Persian cartoonist, writes that he has read that they are to employ figurines like the Microsoft Office Assistant for stopping the Iranian users from getting involved in “improper” activities. This is his depiction of how the “digital police figurine” will work,

(direct link to the video)

They keep a close eye on certain individuals and censor them out despite whatever technical measure they take in order to keep their blogs afloat. At the same time, if you are looking for porn, music, or movies, as long as you don’t make a fuss over it, you can definitely have it. This is my understanding of how things work in the Islamic Republic: modesty is the cover, supremacy is the aim.

From Antony

We, the undersigned, view the circumstances surrounding the Iranian authorities’ arrest of Hossein Derakhshan (hoder.com), one of the most prominent Iranian bloggers, as extremely worrying.  Derakhshan’s disappearance, detention at an unknown location, lack of access to his family and attorneys, and the authorities’ failure to provide clear information about his potential charges is a source of concern for us.

The Iranian blogging community is one of the largest and most vibrant in the world.  From ordinary citizens to the President, a diverse and large number of Iranians are engaged in blogging. These bloggers encompass a wide spectrum of views and perspectives, and they play a vital role in open discussions of social, cultural and political affairs.

Unfortunately, in recent years, numerous websites and blogs have been routinely blocked by the authorities, and some bloggers have been harassed or detained.  Derakhshan’s detention is but the latest episode in this ongoing saga and is being viewed as an attempt to silence and intimidate the blogging community as a whole.

Derakhshan’s own position regarding a number of prisoners of conscience in Iran has been a source of contention among the blogging community and has caused many to distance themselves from him.  This, however, doesn’t change the fact that the freedom of expression is sacred for all not just the ones with whom we agree.

We therefore categorically condemn the circumstances sourrounding Derakhshan’s arrest and detention and demand his immediate release.

Arash Abadpour
http://kamangir.net/

Niki Akhavan
http://benevis-dige.blogspot.com/

Hossein Bagher Zadeh
http://www.iranian.com/bagherzadeh

Sanam Dolatshahi
http://www.khorshidkhanoom.com/

Mehdi Jami
http://sibestaan.malakut.org/

Jahanshah Javid
http://www.iranian.com/

Abdee Kalantari
http://www.nilgoon.org

Sheema Kalbasi
http://www.zaneirani.blogspot.com/

Nazli Kamvari
http://sibiltala.blogspot.com/

Nazy Kaviani
http://nazykaviani.blogspot.com/

Peyvand Khorsandi
http://soulbean.wordpress.com/

Nikahang Kowsar
http://nikahang.blogspot.com/

Omid Memarian
http://omidmemarian.blogspot.com/

Pedram Moallemian
http://www.eyeranian.net/

Ali Moayedian
http://payvand.com/

Ebrahim Nabavi
http://www.doomdam.com/

Masoome Naseri
http://www.mimnoon.com/

Khodadad Rezakhani
http://www.vishistorica.com/

Leva Zand
http://balootak.com/

Just ran across this fabulous Persian twit and thought you might like it too. This is the twit in English,

Just imagine! It will take little time before you look up a word in the dictionary and, where the description of the word used to be, you see, “Dear user! You are not allowed to have access to this word!”*.

* Mockery of the “page is banned” message in the Iranian filtering system.

(direct link to video)

The video is apparently taken from one or two floors above the street level. The screams of the girl to be arrested are not legible but people around the camera are contemplating why the girl is being arrested and if this has anything to do with the Modesty Police.

Another marvellous piece of work by the Mideast Youth TV (also available in Persian). Good job guys!

(Direct Link to Video)

The Leader of the Friday Prayers in the religious city of Mashhad, Ayatollah Seyed Ahmad Alam Alhoda, stated regret because Iran’s team in the opening of the Olympics was led by a woman.

“This was against the Islamic values as well as those of the establishment and the revolution and what the government claims to be accomplishing”, he stated. He added, “Putting a woman on the front is telling the world that we are not for the promotion of the Islamic values”. “As I have also mentioned before, the attendance of the Iranian women in the international events and exhibiting them outside Iran is against Islamic values. However, not only we are sending them to the events, they are put on the front as well”, he was reported saying [Persian].

Related: More about the Iranian women who will compete in the Olympics in Shahrzad’s blog: Iranian Women In Olympics. Do make sure you subscribe to her feed if you’d like to get a first-hand look at Iran presented from the point of view of an Iranian lady.

Mahmoud Farjami, a well known Persian blogger, reports that the daughter of one of his acquaintances is denied entry to the UK despite the fact that she needs urgent care to save her eye.

In an open letter to Jeffrey Adams, the British Ambassador to Tehran, he describes that an Iranian girl has lost the sight of one of her eyes and that Iranian physicians have warned her family that she is to have the same problem with her other eye if she does not receive help. While the physicians have stated that they are not able to even stop the progress of the illness, her father is told that a new technique developed in the UK could be helpful to her. Therefore, her father, although being a low-level government worker, has handed out the regarding document to the British Embassy in Tehran and thanks to donations and help from both inside and outside the country he has managed to collect the demanded 6500 GBP in the bank. His application, however, has been denied because it is not understandable to the embassy how a person with a 136 GBP-per-month salary has managed to collect such an amount.

Farjami writes,

[Mr Ambassador,] I am ready to provide you with more information and I am accessible through the email address m_farjami@yahoo.com.

He states that he will contact media sources if the actions taken by the embassy lead to her not receiving medical help and thus losing her eye sight.

They want to execute us

Effective tomorrow, anyone who wears stripped pyjamas will be executed for acting against public and private safety*.

p.s. From now on, this blog will be dedicated to apiary in alpine heights, the positive effects of cucumbers in getting rid of stomach gas,  modern sewing methods, making flowers with flour, the importance of a diploma in migrating to Canada, and games for cellphones.

p.s.2. We might actually go to Siberia, because Tehran is getting too warm and the danger of execution is becoming too imminent.

p.s.3. Or in fact, maybe we just die….

p.s.5. Maybe, for the whole summer we just sit and not do anything, except for scratching our butt.

p.s.6. And if scratching our butt is violating the internal or external safety, we just stop doing it.

It really seems like in this country, that I am just hating more at any minute, we are the problem. The fact that we live here, our existence, that is becoming a problem. The situation is just becoming so bad that leaving the country is becoming the only solution. I really wish that these ignorant Iranians would just die out [for not standing up against the regime].

* Refers to a common reason mentioned by the regime for prosecuting people: “acting against the public safety”

The blogger is obviously too angry about the recent developments and the possibility of the Parliament approving the legislation which will pave the way for harsh actions against bloggers who question issues such as the religion, and the official narration of it.

The Kurd activist Farhad Hadj Mirzaei has been under arrest since last winter.

The Student Committee of Human Rights Reporters reports that the interrogators have applied harsh methods of torture, including electrical shocks and sleep deprivation, on the inmate, in order to take a forced confession out of him [Persian].

A week ago, his father wrote an open letter in which he mentioned that Farhad’s arrest took place when he left home for a dentist appointment. He claimed that his mother has undergone massive trauma after his arrest and that fracture in Farhad’s hands and legs has incurred as a result of the torture methods applied on him. Farhad has reportedly been the only source of financial support for his extended family [Persian].

There are unverified reports that Farhad may have been involved in a political kidnapping and ransom collection assault. While there is no evidence to suggest that this is in fact the case, the increased number of the inmates under torture and fear of execution has made the community unable to show the appropriate reaction.

Earlier today, nine women rights’ activists were arrested only to be released after a few hours [Persian].

Akram Mahdavi is another victim of unjust and unequal laws in a country where, for the most part, the legal system considers females only half human, and where women’s rights, as well as their cries for help are routinely and systematically ignored, trampled upon, and even ridiculed. The now 32 year old mother of a girl in her early teens is facing imminent execution for conspiracy to murder. According to court and other reliable sources, including Akram’s defense attorney, Mina Jafari, when Akram was 27 years old, she sought the assistance of a young male friend and conspired to murder her then 74 year old husband. Akram, who suffers from epilepsy among other ailments, had been forced to marry the substantially older man; her own father physically beat her into saying “I do” for a second time (read more)

To save Akram from imminent execution, the campaign needs to collect the equivalent of $60,000 as ransom. A Paypal account has been set up and bank drafts are accepted.

The campaign has also been given the red dress the Iranian soap opera actress Nazanin Boniadi, recently seen on Iron Man, wore on the red carpet at the Emmy Awards 2007. The item is for sale on eBay and all the proceeds will be used to pay off the ransom.

To donate on PayPal click on this button, for other methods of donation send me an email arash@kamangir.net. I will put you through to Akram’s lawyer and the organizers of the campaign.

There are moments of pure joy in the blogosphere. There are times you wish you could touch the hands of people you have had the privilege to know through blogging but have never met in person. When these moments come, you are proud of being a citizen of the blogosphere.

A while back, Bluehost, the company which hosts kamangir.net, announced a partner program. In short, they allowed customers to find new customers and be paid $65 for each sign-up. So I posted an announcement on Persian Kamangir and invited fellow bloggers to take advantage of this opportunity. I offered to pay them back what Bluehost was going to pay me, as a mean to encourage Persian bloggers to move into their personal domains (we also worked out the legalities and let Bluehost administration know about the arrangement).

Soon, four Persian bloggers used the opportunity and set up their blogs in their new domains. That was a few months ago. I promised them that I’ll contact them as soon as I get the check from Bluehost.

Finally, the first check came in a few days ago. It was a $130-check, so I contacted the first two subscribers and asked them for their bank information. Their response is what I would like to call a “pure moment”.

Since a short while ago, we have been involved in collecting $60,000 for releasing a mother from prison. The convicted murderer of her 74-year-old husband, the 32-year-old Akram Mahdavi, is on the death row because she does not have the financial privilege to pay off the requested ransom. She killed her husband after a second arranged marriage was forced upon her by her family. Women’s rights’ activists describe her case as a very typical example of arranged marriages of teenagers to old men (her first husband was forty years older than her). Akram has a 17-year-old daughter from her first marriage (more information in Persian).

If you have not guessed yet how the case of a woman on the death row could have anything to do with “discount” a hosting company offers to its customers, well, that’s what I call the “Iranian Connection”.

Both people whom I contacted for the pay-back asked me to deposit the amount to the fund established for releasing Akram. Is that not something you can be proud of?

If you are willing to help us collect the ransom, please use this button and donate on Paypal. For more information, please send me an email at arash@kamangir.net.

The sign reads, “No service to people with loose veil, not even to our old customers”. This sign I wish was rare in Iran, but it isn’t. The fact is, there are stickers which carry the same message and are printed by the Police. These stickers are widely used all over Iran and their use has been mandated by the Police in many instances. You may also remember the hospital which mandated the veil as the condition for service to patients.

The following video is rather old. At the first sight, it might seem to be providing proof that discrimination does exist widely in the US. Watching the video till the end, however, my catch was that discrimination does exist over there, as it exists in every corner of the world, but with the heartwarming observation that ordinary people oppose to it and choose to boycott the offender. Whereas, in Iran, discrimination is a daily practice prescribed by the government and followed by the nation. At best, the Iranian nation is ignorant, and that’s when you do not take into consideration the fact that discriminatory judgments have become a part of the Iranian moral code: “women with loose veil are perverts”. Similar observation can be made regarding judgments against people with different sexual orientations, minority religious groups, etc.

My conclusion is, when left alone to decide for themselves, people everywhere in the world are for justice and peace. Propaganda and political agenda, however, agitate people and turn them into discriminators, for obvious goals of the leading gang.

[youtube]PqbQWxHIn4U[/youtube]

(direct link to video)

I literally cried, wishing my country was like this.

Geert Wilders’s famous video finally found its way to the Internet. The much anticipated 15-minute video carries footage of Islamic leaders cursing the west and its values and advocating for Islam and its ways. The footage gives subtitles for the various languages spoken in it, the Persian parts of which are accurate. I wasn’t able to find any mistake in the Arabic part either.

I am not a Muslim. Having said that, this video is not about Islam. Islam, like Christianity, Judaism, and other schools of thought, does not kill. Nor does it stone, amputate, or circumcise women. All this is carried out by a beast named man, one of whose most developed talents is to find phony justifications for his/her horrible actions.

Mr. Wilders shows us pictures of crimes carried out by Muslims, from the infamous 9/11 attacks to London bombings and executions in Iran and Afghanistan. I do agree with him that not only many Muslims commit disgusting actions these days, but also that the mainstream Islamic world fails in condemning these atrocities. Even worse than that, the average Muslim seems to have sympathy for murderess, or at least they are fast in condemnation when a fellow Muslim is attacked, but seem to forget to be fair when Muslims kill others. Greet Wilders’ video might make this more clear, as if we had any doubt about it, but does not present a solution. At its core, it merely makes racist remarks about the rise of Muslim population in Europe.

It is a fact that the conventional interpretations of Quran and Islam do lead to issuing death Fatwas against non-Muslims. As rational human beings, this is what we need to talk about. Wilder’s presentation, however, mixes up the faith with the actions of human beings and fails in telling us what we don’t know. At the middle of the carnage, we need to sit together, Muslims and non-Muslims, and make it clear that discussion is the only way. This video, and works similar to it, only stir up the fight.

Ironically, the video contradicts itself when at the end it asks for the Islamic ideology to be defeated. If that’s what you are asking for, Mr. Wilders, which I totally agree with you in it, then why offend billions of Muslims? Really, what’s the point of agitating Muslims by that cheesy “tearing Quran apart, oops! no! it was a phone book” scene?

[youtube]nCOlv-8nmZk[/youtube]

The boy is arrested for having long hair and is beaten by the Police. They then set his hair on fire, in order to humiliate him. Do spread the video (direct link to video).

Update: Some people claim that this video is fake. These people, however, do not manage to provide acceptable argument for their claim.

 [youtube]XQSnmnUUkM8[/youtube]

Ardeshir Arian has done a fantastic roundup of the events: link (direct link to video).

[youtube]8jGhsaJdyQU[/youtube]

Pajamas Media has done a fantastic roundup (direct link to video).

It is not really easy to be exposed to all the news about the upcoming elections in the states and remain silent, even if you know about American politics less than you know about Canary Islands. Taking a side feels good, as well. Therefore, this is why I chose Barack Obama.

• Republican vs. Democratic: I guess with my tedious arguments against the overdose of religion in Iran, it is clear why I like the Democrats more.
• Hillary vs. Barack: Maybe I don’t like her just because of the “Clinton Dynasty” thing. I’m just fed up with people with similar last names occupying the news.

Nevertheless, I find some of the remarks of Barack too simplistic, including when he promised to sit around a table with the Islamic Republic on the first year of his presidency (link). Hillary’s answer to the same question was very thoughtful.

[youtube]x1dSPrb5w_k[/youtube]

Enough with this “Idiot’s Guide to US Elections”, I admire Americans, because a black person or a woman are the most likely to end up to be their president. This is happening less than two centuries after blacks were lashed down there. I believe there are a lot of things that we, Iranians, have to learn from the “Great Satan”.

The disgraceful action of an Iranian student in Canada caused a lot of very passionate discussions in the Persian blogosphere. Reportedly, the 25-year-old Ph.D. student of Memorial University, Newfoundland, has pleaded guilty for charges of sexually assaulting a lady in an elevator. On his defense he argued, “You can’t expect all males to control themselves when the breasts are out”. He also claimed to have been abused during his three-week preliminary confinement.

What is striking in this event is the attribution of this unacceptable offense to the country of birth of the offender. I do confirm it, and I am aware that many Iranian males will not like my assertion, but the average Iranian male suffers from a lot of tension in his sexual life. Nevertheless, I see no point for a media source to use the term “Iranian” on the first sentence in their report of the event. Less acceptable is the notion of “Iranian Pig” being used by a fellow blogger.

I have been living in Canada for over two years now, and, to my great pleasure, this is a country of respect and dignity. You have no right to call me a pig (the title of the post has changed since, but the “pig” is still there in the url and also in Google Cache).

As mentioned before (see: January 30th, Solidarity of Bloggers with the Imprisoned Iranian Students), this blog, and its Persian counterpart, proudly support bloggers’ solidarity with Iranian imprisoned students. Join in! Spread the news!

Solidarity of Bloggers with the Imprisoned Iranian Students

“There is no doubt winter will have an end

And, the post of spring will come to our land

With thousands of flowers in his hand

Certainty it will come,

That other should be passed”

The spring is coming while many Iranian students are still behind the bars. Here is the names of some of them,

• Arash Paknejad (m), Mozandaran University
• Saeid Habibi (m), as member of student’s human rights reporters
• Anoshe Azadbar (f), Tehran University
• Elinaz Jamshidi (f), Azad University of central Tehran student of communication
• Mehdi Gerilo (m), Tehran geophysics center
• Nader Ahseni (m), Mazandaran University
• Behroz karimizade (m), Tehran University
• Nasim Soltan-beigi (f), Alame Communication University
• Ali Sa`lem (m), Polytechnic University, student of Master degree in polymer
• Mohsen Qanim (m), Polytechnic University
• Rozbeh Saf-Shekan (m), Tehran University
• Yaser (Sadra) Pirhaiaty (m), Shahed University
• Saeid Aqam-Ali (m), Yazd University
• Ali Kolaee` (m), Azad University of Shahriar City
• Amir Mehrzad (m), (high School Student)
• Hadi Salary (m), Rajaey University
• Farshid Ahangaran(m), Rajaey University
• Amir Aqai (m), Rajaey University
• Milad Omrani (m), Rajaey University
• Keivan Amir Eliasy (m), Master of industrial engineer
• Soroush Hashem-poor (m), Ahvaz University
• Farshad Doosti-poor (m)
• Sohrab Karimi (m)
• Javad Alizade (m)
• Mohammad Salleh Auman (m)
• Mehdi al-lahyari (m), Sharif industrial University, student of master degree
• Rozbehan Amiri (m), Tehran University, Student of computer sciences
• Bahram Shojaee (m), Tehran-south Azad University, Student of Chemistry engineer
• Saied Aqakhani (m)
• Majid Ashraf Nejad (m)
• Peiman Piran (m), by other student report about him*
• Aabed Tavanche (m), Polytechnic University
• Soroosh Dastestany (m)
• Amin Qazaei (m)
• Bijan Sabaq (m), Mazandaran University
• Anahita hosini (f), Tehran University
• Morteza Khedmatlo (m)
• Mohamad Pour Abdol-lah (m), Tehran University
• Bita Samimi-zad (f), Polytechnic University
• Behzad Baqery (m), Mazandaran University
• Soroosh Sabet (m), Sharif University
• Morteza Eslahchi (m), Allame University
• Mostafa Shirvani (m)

In the past month and half, many students from different cities and universities have been arrested, on charges related to holding peaceful ceremonies for the celebration of the 7th of November, the National Day for Students. They have been behind the bars since. During these days, their families have not been able to visit them and only some of them have been given the chance to have short phone calls with the inmates. This has caused a lot of anxiety and tension for the families and has resulted in their many protests in order to pressure the government to release the students, to no avail.

We honor the freedom-loving students of Iran, some of whom are also bloggers, and thus on January 30th we rename our blogs to “Bloggers’ Solidarity with Imprisoned Iranian Students”.

We wish the release of our friends.

International bloggers who joined in:

• Middle East Youth
• Muneeb (Saudi Arabia/Pakistan)
• Simon Columbus

“My M.Sc. application was rejected, not on the basis of my academic performance, but because of where I am born”, writes Amin, an Iranian reader of this blog. Attaching a snapshot of the communication he has received from University of Twente, in the Netherlands, he asks if this action is acceptable under international norms.

Apparently, the Dutch university has decided to reject Iranian applicants, because they “are requested to write a formal guarantee…that the Iranian applicant for a visa does not have access to certain specific scientific knowledge” (source). Therefore, Amin loses his chance to pursue his studies in Chemical Engineering, something he rigorously emphasizes “has nothing to do with the nukes”.

Academicians are signing a petition against this new decision.

Update: University Twente administration changed their mind. The newly published statement reads “International students holding a valid residence permit will be accepted into the University of Twente without any further requirements being made, providing they possess the requisite qualifications. This applies to all nationalities, including Iranian students.” The statement also reads “There have been no instances of admission refusals or any form of discrimination, as otherwise suggested by the media on several occasions.” This seems to be a false statement, based on the email communication given in the above. Thanks to christinA for the tip.

Source of the cartoon

A large group of Iranian bloggers have decided to show their solidarity with tens of Iranian students who are imprisoned by the administration. More information, in Persian, is given in this blog.

This is the statement issued by the organizers (revised by me for grammatical mistakes in the original text),

Solidarity of Bloggers with the Imprisoned Iranian Students

“There is no doubt winter will have an end

And, the post of spring will come to our land

With thousands of flowers in his hand

Certainty it will come,

That other should be passed”

The spring is coming while many Iranian students are still behind the bars. Here is the names of some of them,

• Arash Paknejad (m), Mozandaran University
• Saeid Habibi (m), as member of student’s human rights reporters
• Anoshe Azadbar (f), Tehran University
• Elinaz Jamshidi (f), Azad University of central Tehran student of communication
• Mehdi Gerilo (m), Tehran geophysics center
• Nader Ahseni (m), Mazandaran University
• Behroz karimizade (m), Tehran University
• Nasim Soltan-beigi (f), Alame Communication University
• Ali Sa`lem (m), Polytechnic University, student of Master degree in polymer
• Mohsen Qanim (m), Polytechnic University
• Rozbeh Saf-Shekan (m), Tehran University
• Yaser (Sadra) Pirhaiaty (m), Shahed University
• Saeid Aqam-Ali (m), Yazd University
• Ali Kolaee` (m), Azad University of Shahriar City
• Amir Mehrzad (m), (high School Student)
• Hadi Salary (m), Rajaey University
• Farshid Ahangaran(m), Rajaey University
• Amir Aqai (m), Rajaey University
• Milad Omrani (m), Rajaey University
• Keivan Amir Eliasy (m), Master of industrial engineer
• Soroush Hashem-poor (m), Ahvaz University
• Farshad Doosti-poor (m)
• Sohrab Karimi (m)
• Javad Alizade (m)
• Mohammad Salleh Auman (m)
• Mehdi al-lahyari (m), Sharif industrial University, student of master degree
• Rozbehan Amiri (m), Tehran University, Student of computer sciences
• Bahram Shojaee (m), Tehran-south Azad University, Student of Chemistry engineer
• Saied Aqakhani (m)
• Majid Ashraf Nejad (m)
• Peiman Piran (m), by other student report about him*
• Aabed Tavanche (m), Polytechnic University
• Soroosh Dastestany (m)
• Amin Qazaei (m)
• Bijan Sabaq (m), Mazandaran University
• Anahita hosini (f), Tehran University
• Morteza Khedmatlo (m)
• Mohamad Pour Abdol-lah (m), Tehran University
• Bita Samimi-zad (f), Polytechnic University
• Behzad Baqery (m), Mazandaran University
• Soroosh Sabet (m), Sharif University
• Morteza Eslahchi (m), Allame University
• Mostafa Shirvani (m)

In the past month and half, many students from different cities and universities have been arrested, on charges related to holding peaceful ceremonies for the celebration of the 7th of November, the National Day for Students. They have been behind the bars since. During these days, their families have not been able to visit them and only some of them have been given the chance to have short phone calls with the inmates. This has caused a lot of anxiety and tension for the families and has resulted in their many protests in order to pressure the government to release the students, to no avail.

We honor the freedom-loving students of Iran, some of whom are also bloggers, and thus on January 30th we rename our blogs to “Bloggers’ Solidarity with Imprisoned Iranian Students”.

We wish the release of our friends.

Update: International bloggers who joined in:

• Middle East Youth
• Muneeb (Saudi Arabia/Pakistan)
• Simon Columbus

A Lebanese Shi’ite Muslim prepares to cut a four-month-old baby’s head with a razor during the Ashura ceremony held in Nabatiyeh town in south Lebanon January 19, 2008 – Reuters

Ebrahim Latif Allahi (Persian: ابراهیم لطف اللهی) was killed under torture. He studied law in Paiam Noor University in Sanandaj and was arrested about two weeks ago by the Intelligence. Reportedly, his family has been informed that “he has committed suicide in the prison” but that “his body is already buried”. His family is under pressure to not spread the news [Persian].

This is the leaflet for announcing a service for him, published by his family. It reads “This is to announce the death of Ebrahim Latif Allahi caused by ….”. The cause of death is apparently a taboo.

Reportedly, no information about his whereabouts and the reason for his arrest was given to his family. Tense situation has been reported in the city of Sanandaj and in his university after the news of his “suicide” came out.

Sanandaj is populated by Kurds, a minority group discriminated against by the central government. Separatist groups are very active in the region.

One of the high-commanders of the Police force stated a few days ago that in 63% of cases of murder with a female victim, women are killed by a family member and that “the Police cannot intervene in these cases” [Persian]. The Persian blogger Ghoghnoos (means Phoenix) is outraged by these remarks and asks [Persian],

Why is it that the Police cannot enter a household and intervene when a woman is killed but if Ahmad, for example, has a can of beer in his basement or a satellite dish on his rooftop they have all the rights to enter the place and intervene? Why is it that if Ahmad kills his wife, or his daughter, then the Police cannot go in and intervene?

The picture is from a June 2007 raid by the Police to destroy satellite dishes and arrest petty criminals.