ISSUE #68 CONTENTS:
- “Trojan Horse” Tactic Backfires at Tehran Protest
- Twice Convicted Editor Garners World Outcry
- Wanted for Changing the “Real World”
- What country just outlawed CRIME?
SPOTLIGHT CASES:
“Trojan Horse” Tactic Backfires at Tehran Protest
CRIME Report sources inside Iran analyzing the events surrounding last Thursday’s protests – the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution – suggest that organizers may have been too crafty. It appears there was a “Trojan Horse” plan to attend the main regime-sponsored rally in Tehran’s Azadi (Freedom) Square. People were supposed to appear inconspicuous in the early stages of the rally to enter the Square without attracting 
attention from the mass of security officers. During Ahmadinejad’s speech, all the protestors were then supposed to start chanting and turn the square green. (See at right a popular cartoon where a girl tells her friend: “Grandpa plans to get into Azadi using the Trojan horse method.”)
It would have been a major blow to the regime if their plan had worked. But apparently the disguises of the opposition ended up being too good. Protestors had no way to recognize each other as “greens.” “Who would dare to begin chanting anti-regime slogans when you suspect that you're completely surrounded by the pro-regime crowd?” observes one Iranian. Indeed, many posters on chat forums report seeing many in the crowd stay silent when the regime speakers called for slogans. They suspect these were potential protesters like themselves.
“In any demonstration a few reckless vanguards need to dare to break the silence and trigger the domino of protest,” noted a source. “But when you are too dispersed and suspect you are alone, the cascade doesn't occur.” So the protestors stayed silent all the way through and became dissolved in the mainstream pro-regime crowd - ironically adding to the crowd’s size! And thus, apparently, the Green Trojan Horse kicked back.
Twice Convicted Editor Garners World Outcry
Last month, the CRIME Report spotlighted Hanevy Ould Dehah, the Mauritanian editor of the groundbreaking website Taqadoumy who had served a six-month jail sentence on a bogus charge – only to be held past his sentence without cause. In another bogus move, Mauritania’s Supreme Court ruled that Hanevy’s trial was flawed – and ordered him re-tried. The result came just a few days ago: Hanevy was re-sentenced for the same crime to two years in jail.
Hanevy's plight represents a new low in the assault on journalists across the region and marks a significant regression for a country that had until recently allowed a high degree of journalistic freedom. Reporters without Borders slammed the decision: “We fail to understand how the judicial authorities could reach such a decision at the end of this farcical trial. Why didn’t they just give Dehah a 2½-year sentence in the first trial? This is a disgrace!”
The re-conviction of Hanevy comes after a long solidarity campaign by the Union of Mauritanian Journalists, which described this latest conviction as “a retrograde step.” Hanevy’s plight also recently made the Wall Street Journal, which ran an op-ed thathailed the “young journalist’s courageous work” and called on the US government to end its silence on his case. Finally, last week the U.S. Embassy issued a formal statement criticizing Hanevy's retrial and calling for his release. According to Hanevy’s lawyer, he remains determined to continue his work. The question remains whether outside pressure on Mauritanian judicial officials can get him released.
Wanted for Changing the “Real World”: Parisa Montazaran
A first-generation Iranian-American, Parisa Montazaran is the first Muslim to appear on the MTV hit show The Real World. Beyond her entertainment career, the reality TV star is passionate about young Americans connecting with young Middle Easterners to promote reform. She currently lectures at universities on diversity, interfaith understanding, and women’s empowerment. Last summer, she traveled to Iran to see the reform struggle firsthand. Here in the US she serves as a celebrity judge for the “Dream Deferred Essay Contest” (whose deadline is this Sunday!). The CRIME Report spoke with Parisa about her work.
What did you learn about the reform struggle in Iran during your visit?
My impression of the struggle was an overall dissatisfaction with infrastructural and economic shortcomings of the government. Young people are the majority in Iran. About 70% of the population is under the age of 35 and for them the lack of hope in their economic future is causing a lot of problems in regards to planning for education, marriage, and life. You can't simply say “Oh the college students just hate Ahmadinejad” - it's not that black and white. The repercussions of his policies affect the entire society in a very real way, and I believe that is the underlying drive of the civil rights struggle. People want the right to their own sovereignty.
How did you deal with restrictions placed upon women, including how to dress?
There are a lot of pressures on women in the US as well. We are free to dress as we wish but the expectations on beauty, weight, image, etc. are so daunting that the use of hijab to preserve one’s modesty can be empowering. I appreciate this aspect and accept wearing hijab in Iran as a cultural norm. But the political implications of mandatory hijab only breed frustration and contempt for the patriarchy that fuels Iranian society - and the world as a whole. The Qur'an states that there is no coercion in Islam, so mandating hijab or any other religious practice seems counter-intuitive for an "Islamic Republic."
As an essay contest judge, why do you think it is so important for Iranian youth to get active?
I think Iranian youth are very active in the civil rights movement because the state of the nation is affecting them so directly right now and will continue to do so. I think they are taking admirable steps towards making their voices heard. I encourage them – and young people everywhere – to enter the Dream Deferred Essay Contest and share their vision of a better society.
QUIZ: What country just outlawed CRIME?
ANSWER: Iran. Sources inside Iran report that the regime has banned Internet access to the C.R.I.M.E. Report. See a screen grab below that shows what users get when they try to access our website. Of course the site remains viewable if people use proxy servers. But the banning of CRIME comes as part of a larger crackdown on Net freedom by the regime, which recently banned Gmail and shut down much of the Internet last week to prevent coverage of opposition protests. 
BECOME A PARTNER IN CRIME:
Here are quick ways to contribute to the Middle East civil rights movement:
- Forward CRIME to friends & encourage them to subscribe.
- Write a letter to imprisoned Egyptian blogger Kareem Amer.
- Join 11,000 others in demanding Nokia stop aiding Iran's crackdown.
- Enter HAMSA's Dream Deferred essay contest.
