- 23 October 2009
-
- 3 Comments
-
-
-
- Events in Iran, Human Rights in Iran, Iran Election 2009
Karroubi Attacked Once Again
23 October 2009 Posted By Sanaz Tofighrad
Mehdi Karroubi was attacked by baton-wielding plainclothes militia at a press fair in Tehran on Friday. Karroubi’s turban fell to the ground in the process. He was attacked before at one of the Friday prayers in Tehran during the summer.
According to Amir Kabir newsletter, Karroubi’s supporters at the fair started chanting slogans in his support upon witnessing the attack.
Amir Kabir also reported that hundreds of visitors gathered in front the Fars News Agency’s booth and chanted slogans such as “Death to Dictator.”
Related posts:
3 Responses to “Karroubi Attacked Once Again”
Sanaz, the AutNews report is deliberately misleading.
Study the actual photos of the incident (the AutNews photo is an old file pic, it’s not even from the scene). The real photos are available at FARS and a couple of other news outlets. You’ll see that a few pro-establishment activists rushed Karroubi and a shoe was thrown, striking Karroubi’s head.
Very important: the photos reveal that Karroubi is allowed his own street-clothed ARMED bodyguards, and during the incident he was also accorded additional uniformed police services.
A main opposition political figure being allowed the use of personal armed bodyguards sort of contradicts the narrative of a so-called dictatorship. Anyway, I’ve never heard of such a thing being permitted in a truly authoritarian state.
This past week, niacINsight has posted a number of items with un-sourced claims, which only serve to parrot deliberate misinformation or disinformation schemes. I don’t know if this due to an inexperienced staff or what, but it represents a disservice to the Iranian community.
I know that Trita is a very busy man, but he appears to be the one with the strongest academic qualifications. Maybe it would be a good idea to run these posts through him before publishing them on the blog. After all, credibility is what’s at stake here.
Pirouz says: “…contradicts the narrative of a so-called dictatorship”. Oh yeah, Iran isn’t a dictatorship. The IRI has killed well over 15,000 Iranians (the vast majority of them executed for opposing the regime). But it’s not a dictatorship. Sure.
“A main opposition political figure being allowed the use of personal armed bodyguards sort of contradicts the narrative of a so-called dictatorship.”
Dictatorship: it doesn’t mean what you think it means.
There is absolutely no choice for the people when it comes to who leads them. But it’s not a dictatorship. There is one supreme leader calling all the shots, with his own armies and rigged elections. But it’s not a dictatorship. There’s a silenced press or concerted effort to quell any demonstrations or displays of free speech. But it’s not a dictatorship.
Pirouz, you need to read up on history and learn what a dictatorship entails. The Islamic “Republic” has evolved fully and undeniably into a dictatorship.