Author: |Posted: 6:53 pm on 21/10/09
Category: World News Blog
On Saturday, Maziar Bahari was released from prison in Iran on bail. On Tuesday, he was allowed to fly to London to join his partner, Paola, who is expecting their first child.
It’s hard to find the words to express the relief and joy felt in the Channel 4 newsroom. Maziar, who is also a correspondent for Newsweek, has made films for us in Iran, Iraq and beyond. Our team worked alongside him in Tehran during the June elections. read more
Author: |Posted: 8:33 pm on 30/07/09
Category: World News Blog
Neda Agha Soltan, who was shot on July 20th during street protests in Tehran, has become a symbol of protest. Today thousands went to the cemetery where she’s buried south of Tehran to mourn 40 days after her death and remember others killed during these last six weeks of protest. read more
Author: |Posted: 2:51 pm on 30/07/09
Category: World News Blog
For weeks we’ve been trying to find people who have fled Iran after being arrested or injured in the demonstrations. It’s been difficult – not because such people do not exist, but because they’re all so scared.
Those who have come to Europe know that if they speak out, their relatives back home are likely to be threatened or worse by the basiij militia and Revolutionary Guard.
Finally, we found two brave young people, whose identities and locations we’re protecting. I’ll just say I met them in a European capital. read more
Author: |Posted: 4:07 pm on 17/07/09
Category: World News Blog
Iran’s opposition supporters have a way of turning things upside-down and back-to-front in the Islamic Republic.
Many of them are secular, yet they go onto their balconies every night to shout “Allah Akbar,” putting the Basij militia, the vanguard of the Islamic Revolution, into the invidious position of telling people to stop praising God.
That’s why, after all these years of telling everyone it’s their duty to turn up for Friday prayers, it would have been hard for the authorities in Iran to tell people NOT to show up. read more
Author: |Posted: 11:07 am on 17/06/09
Category: World News Blog
So did they rig it and if so, how?
So far the evidence seems circumstantial and no-one I’ve spoken to has managed to provide hard proof.
Author: |Posted: 10:59 am on 15/06/09
Category: World News Blog
TEHRAN, IRAN – Whenever the riot police charge, waving their batons, with their shields to the fore, people run down the streets to escape.
The black-clad riot squad move in phalanxes on motor-bikes, riding up on the pavements, swiping at passers-by. You don’t have to be a protestor to get hit. read more
Author: |Posted: 2:24 pm on 12/06/09
Category: World News Blog
ESFAHAN, IRAN – Some snapshots from the Mousavi rally (the video report is here). read more
Author: |Posted: 7:04 pm on 11/06/09
Category: World News Blog
ESFAHAN, IRAN – A video dispatch from this historic city, on one of the most passionately fought election campaigns I have ever seen anywhere:
Author: |Posted: 11:58 am on 11/06/09
Category: World News Blog
ESFAHAN, IRAN – I can bear witness to the fact that support for Ahmadinejad’s main rival, Mir Hossein Mousavi, is not confined to wealthy north Tehran.
We nearly got crushed in the crowd in Esfahan’s central square yesterday.
It wasn’t even the main man speaking but his prominent and much-loved supporter, former President Khatami. The crowd was mainly young, many with their faces painted green – Moussavi’s campaign colour. read more
Author: |Posted: 6:05 pm on 09/06/09
Category: World News Blog
I love Iranian politics. It never fits into the simple reformist/conservative paradigm so beloved of us western reporters. It’s about complex relationships between different layers of power.
And it’s never about the people in the public eye. It’s always about Rafsanjani. read more
