The first death sentence for participation in Irans post election protests was handed down on Monday, an Iranian reformist website has reported.
Mowcamp, one of the many Farsi-language sites relied on by opposition supporters to spread news, reported that the accused, Mohammed Reza Ali-Zamani, had been informed of the verdict on Monday after the conclusion of his trial. The website gave no source for its report, which could not be independently verified.
The website reported that Mr Ali-Zamani was transferred on Monday from Evin prison ward 209 to Revolutionary Court number 15, presided over by Justice Salabati and the execution verdict was communicated to him. Evin is the name of Tehrans most infamous prison, where regime opponents have been imprisoned since the reign of the Shah.
If confirmed, it would be the first death sentence yet in the trials of more than 100 opposition supporters for allegedly fomenting street violence following President Ahmadinejads disputed election victory in June.
Opposition supporters and international and local human rights groups have denounced the proceedings as show trials designed to intimidate the general populace and uproot the moderate opposition supporting his rival, Mir Hossein Mousavi.
His supporters and others opposed to the clerical establishment itself took to the streets crying fraud after official election results abruptly handed President Ahmadinejad victory with more than 60 percent of the vote.
Evidence of official responsibility for the brutal suppression of streets protestors has mounted since June, much of it aired on the internet, including video footage, stills photographs and witness testimony. The opposition claims more than 70 civilians were killed or subsequently died in custody, more than twice the official death toll.
The regime has remained insistent that the protesters themselves were the instigators of the violence, dismissing official involvement in the deaths of such high-profile protestors as Neda Agha Soltan, the university student whose fatal shooting was captured on video and sent around the world.
In August, the semi-official Iranian news agency Mehr, named Mr Ali-Zamini as one of those set to stand trial, accusing of fighting to overthrow the Islamic Republic and belong to a terrorist monarchist organisation. Scores of other protesters remain in custody awaiting trial.
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Next week Israel and America will undertake joint military exercises. Nothing unusual there. Operation Juniper Cobra (JC) is about missile defence. Nothing unusual there either, it's a regular event. It's an autumn deployment. Ah, that's different. In previous years Operation JC was scheduled for spring, and that was supposed to be the case this year. So what changed?
Timing is everything, and the timing of these war games comes just as the tension over the Iranian nuclear question has risen dramatically, as was always likely after the UN General Assembly. This may not be why the operation was shifted, but it makes sense.
War Games are required to iron out problems of strategy, technology, even personal relationships. But they are also used to send messages. When the Chinese mess around in boats near Tawian, they usually use landing craft boats. This sends the clear message that despite recently warmer relationships, the Chinese still have the option of one day landing back in what they say is part of the Motherland.
The message from Juniper Cobra is that the US will help defend Israel, and that together they are capable of deflecting a ballistic missile attack by Iran.
The Americans and Israeli's will link up their Arrow and Patriot systems and other equipment. Most of the action will take place on computer screens, but there will be some live firing. It will be interesting to see if the cameras are allowed to film this, if they are it will indicate a deliberate show of strength and it will be noticed from Moscow, to Pyongyang, to Tehran.
Continued on Page 47
Scott Ritter, Fmr. U.N. Weapons Inspector in Iraq (1991-98), discussed his London Guardian op-ed which challenges the idea that Iran is close to producing a nuclear weapon. What is wrong with us? Why can't we all be as smart at Scotty boy?
Why does a certain type insist on embarrassing itself in public? Unfortunately there are those who will latch on to this as an excuse to do nothing. Let us hope dear President Obama is not one of them.
THE Pentagon claims a giant "bunker buster" bomb will be ready within months, adding a powerful weapon to the US arsenal amid tensions over Iran's nuclear program.
The 30,000lb (13,607kg) massive ordnance penetrator (MOP) is designed to knock out fortified sites buried deep underground, like those used by Iran and North Korea to protect its nuclear work.
"It is under development right now and should be deployable in the coming months,'' press secretary Geoff Morrell said.
The Defense Department had said in August it wanted to speed up production plans for the super bomb, asking Congress to shift funds to the project. Congress approved the request and the Pentagon today announced it awarded McDonnell Douglas Corporation a US$51.9 million ($57.5 million) contract to enable B-2 aircraft to carry the enormous MOP.
The bomb, which holds 5300lb (2404kg) of explosives, is designed "to defeat hardened facilities used by hostile states to protect weapons of mass destruction'', Mr Morrell said. But he declined to comment whether the weapon's development was in response to Iran's disputed nuclear program.
"I don't think anybody can divine potential targets or anything of that nature," he said. "This is just a capability that we think is necessary given the world we live in these days.
"The reality is that the world we live in is one in which there are people who seek to build weapons of mass destruction and they seek to do so in a clandestine fashion.''
The United States has refused to rule out military action against Iran if diplomacy fails though President Barack Obama's administration has played down the possibility. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last month that a military strike against Iran would only "buy time'' and delay a nuclear weapons program by about one to three years.
The earth-penetrating MOP is often cited as a potential weapon to take out Iran's underground centrifuge facilities in Natanz.
Iran admitted last month it had been building a new uranium enrichment plant near the holy city of Qom, sparking international outrage.
In subsequent talks with world powers, Tehran has adopted a more conciliatory stance and agreed to UN inspections of the new plant.
Aerospace giant Boeing manufactures the MOP, which could become the biggest conventional bomb ever used by the US military.
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Iran's police chief said on Wednesday that an investigation had found no evidence that election protesters detained in a now closed detention center had been raped as alleged by opposition groups.
"It has been proved that there was no rape in Kahrizak," the ISNA news agency quoted Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam as saying, referring to the notorious detention center south of Tehran.
Moghadam acknowledged that "some offenses were committed" at the jail but he did not elaborate on the details.
Three of the center's warders and around a dozen judiciary and police personnel are awaiting trial in the case.
Iranian opposition groups have alleged that several male and female protesters detained in Kahrizak were raped there. Iranian officials have previously dismissed the allegations.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the closure of the detention center amid reformist media reports that three protesters died after being beaten in custody there.
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Posted by: Fred ||
10/08/2009 00:00 ||
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The first death sentence for participation in Irans post election protests was handed down on Monday, an Iranian reformist website has reported. 
