Radio Free Europe: Why Did Iran Unblock Facebook?

Radio Free Europe:

March 14, 2009
By Golnaz Esfandiari

Farid Hashemi’s latest “status update” on his Facebook page says a lot about his state of mind.

“It’s better to be born as a dog in a democracy than to be a human in a dictatorship,” he writes.

Twenty-eight-year-old Hashemi is a senior member of Iran’s largest pro-reform student group, Daftar Tahkim Vahdat, which is a regular target of pressure from the state.

He is also one of the thousands of Iranians who use Facebook to stay in touch with friends, share photos, and exchange views and information.

Iranian authorities blocked the popular social networking site in 2006 as “illegal.”

But in February, officials in Tehran took the surprising step of unblocking Facebook. Since then, the site’s Iranian membership has been growing fast. Facebook is now the 10th most popular website in Iran.

Update: Farid Pouya reminds me that last month, YouTube was also suddenly unblocked.

Human Rights Watch: Iran: Four Journalists Sentenced to Prison, Floggings

Human Rights Watch, February 10 2009:

Authorities arrested Omid Memarian, Roozbeh Mirebrahimi, Shahram Rafizadeh, and Javad Gholamtamimi in September and October 2004, and detained them without charge. The four said that they were subjected in detention to physical and psychological abuse, as well as prolonged periods of solitary confinement in a secret detention center without access to counsel or family. Three of the men subsequently described the abuse at a meeting with Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, the head of the judiciary. On April 20, 2005, a judiciary spokesman said that an official investigation confirmed that their confessions had been coerced. “The interrogators and prosecutors committed a series of negligent and careless acts in this case that led to the abuse of the detainees’ words and writings in producing confession letters,” the spokesman said.

“These sentences are shocking, given that the head of the judiciary himself admitted the evidence had been obtained by coercion” said Joe Stork, deputy director of the Middle East division at Human Rights Watch. “The judges should be investigating and prosecuting abusers, not their victims.”

Human Rights Watch and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran called on the Tehran Appeals Court to overturn the sentences, and on the government to investigate the torture claims.

The four journalists were released on bail in late 2004. Memarian, Mirebrahimi, and Rafizadeh subsequently left Iran and are living abroad. Gholamtamimi resides in Iran.

Judiciary authorities informed lawyers for the four on February 4 that Branch 1059 of Tehran’s Judiciary Court sentenced them each to prison terms of up to three years and three months, and to be flogged. Memarian was also fined 500,000 tomans (US$520). The known charges against them include “participating in the establishment of illegal organizations,” “membership in illegal organizations,” “propaganda against the state,” “disseminating lies,” and “disturbing public order.” Gholamtamimi was also charged with treason.

NPR: American Journalist Arrested In Iran

NPR:

Weekend Edition Sunday, March 1, 2009: Reporter Roxana Saberi, who has reported from Tehran for NPR News and other news organizations, was detained by Iranian authorities Jan. 31. The last time her family spoke with her was Feb. 10, 2009.

NYT:

TEHRAN — Iran has arrested an Iranian-American reporter who worked for National Public Radio and other news organizations out of Iran, her father told N.P.R. on Sunday.

The father, Reza Saberi, said that his daughter, Roxana Saberi, 31, who has worked as a freelancer in Iran for six years, was arrested Jan. 31 by the authorities after buying a bottle of wine. He said she called Feb. 10 and told him that she was in custody but that she could be released soon.

“She called from an unknown place and said she’s been kept in detention,” Mr. Saberi said from Fargo, N.D., where her family lives.

“She said that she had bought a bottle of wine and the person that sold it had reported it and then they came and arrested her,” he said, adding that the wine purchase was just an excuse to arrest her. Alcoholic drinks are banned in Iran.

Grand Forks Herald:

Often it’s Roxana Saberi’s voice that transcends continents in her radio broadcasts. But today, her voice is all her parents want to hear.

“As long as she calls, at least we hear her voice and we know that she’s alive,” her soft-spoken father, Reza Saberi, said Saturday in the family’s north Fargo home.

The 31-year-old Fargo North High School and Concordia College graduate has been working in Tehran, Iran, as a freelance journalist for six years, reporting for news organizations such as NPR and the BBC.

Now, the former Miss North Dakota sits in an Iranian jail likely facing frequent interrogations after her arrest a month ago.

“Whenever I get up at night, I think about her and I worry a lot,” said her father, 67, surrounded by family photos. “This uncertainty is very, very bad when you don’t know where she is or what they’re doing to her or why they’re holding her.”

Khatami is in

So former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005) has just announced that he’s running for president in the upcoming June 12 2009. That’s flippin’ interesting, man. Let’s see if he’s allowed to stand for election.

Don’t forget that this is the guy who told the BBC in 2006 that wearing a hejab was a “personal choice.”

Here’s what my cousin, Karim Sadjadpour, told the Los Angeles Times in an interview:

“If it’s a totally free and fair election, Khatami stands a very good chance,” said Karim Sadjadpour, Iran analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “When Iranian voters go to the polls, economics is on their mind,” he said.

Recall that since Ahmadinejad took power in 2005, oil prices have fallen drmatically. Remember Friedman’s first law of petropolitics: “The lower the price of crude oil falls, the more petrolist leaders are sensitive to what outside forces think of them.”

Other reax since “با عبای شکلاتی” (“The Man with the Chocolate Robe”) tossed his hat in the ring:

Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a former Khatami VP, who blogged:

Concerning to it is the first serious competition with president in the election and the entire of facilities are in his hands and despite of all early attacks to ruin the competitors , various powers specially the young generation who think to improve the life condition will guarantee wining Mr. Khatami by their positive behaviors in front of other negative efforts. It is an expectation the Cooperation among main and effective powers especially the best of them to integrate the reform which if doesn’t meet , they won’t have any respond in front of history of Iran’s future.

Also, writes the Times of London:

During the revolutionary celebrations, attackers waving sticks approached the cleric, shouting “Death to Khatami. We do not want American government.”

According to Mr Khatami’s Baran Foundation, the attackers were repelled by his own supporters, who chanted, “Khatami, Khatami, we support you.”

Mr Khatami was escorted from the street by his bodyguards who took him to shelter in a nearby building.

Financial Mail (South Africa): MTN’s Iran problem

Financial Mail (South Africa), February 6 2009:

Trading looks set to become more difficult in Iran for SA-based emerging markets cellular network operator MTN. The telecommunications group is about to face a spirited new competitor in the Islamic republic in the form of Etisalat.

United Arab Emirates-based Etisalat, which claims it has 74m customers, mainly in the Middle East, plans to invest billions of dollars in the next few years building a network to rival Irancell. MTN holds a 49% stake of Irancell (the remaining 51% is held by the Iran Electronic Development Company).

MTN Irancell had signed up 11,6m customers by mid-2008, in a country with an estimated population of 73m. Its June 2008 market share was 32% — up from 23% in December 2007 — with the rest controlled by state-owned Iran Telecom.

. . .

It is worrying news for MTN investors that the Etisalat consortium is the only one in Iran licensed to provide high-speed Internet access using 3G. This exclusivity lasts until 2011. MTN and Iran Telecom have built mobile networks using the older and more expensive 2G technology. 3G networks not only offer high-speed Internet access, they make better use of radio frequency spectrum and can carry voice calls at a lower cost to the operator, giving it greater pricing flexibility.

Rick Steves Goes to Iran

My cousin Amir, who I visited while on my Iran (I still need to upload the rest of the photos!) trip in March 2008, just sent me a link to Rick Steves’ hour-long documentary on Iran, which just aired on PBS stations around the country this week. (You can watch it on Google Video here.)

Steves and his film crew visited in May 2008 (just two months after I was there), and they hit Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz — taking me back to some of my favorite moments on the trip and also introducing me to places that I didn’t have the chance to go to.

Above all, the message that he stressed (which matched my experience too) is that Iranians are pleasantly surprised to meet Americans in Iran and welcome them with generosity and friendliness.

Man, I can’t wait to go back!

You can also hear Rick Steves talking about his trip on PRI’s The World and NPR’s Talk of the Nation in shows recorded this past July.

January 14: Cyrus on PRI’s The World

Dear Friends,

I’ve been informed that my radio piece on the launch of the new BBC Persian television service is airing today.

It will be available on any of these stations (and their Internet streams):

New York – 3 pm Eastern – WNYC – 820 AM – www.wnyc.org
Washington, DC – 8 pm Eastern – WAMU – 88.5 FM – www.wamu.org
Los Angeles – 12 pm Pacific – KPCC – 89.3 FM – www.kpcc.opg
Boston – 4 pm Eastern – WGBH – 89.7 FM – www.wgbh.org
San Francisco – 2 pm Pacific – KQED – 88.5 FM – www.kqed.org

You can also find it on The World’s site later in the day and on my site if you miss the broadcast.

Also, don’t forget about The World’s Tech Podcast, hosted by my boss, Clark Boyd. It comes out every Friday.

Lemme know if you hear it!

Update: Audio is here.

Hossein Derakhshan was really arrested

Sanam Dolatshahi, an Iranian blogger now living in Florida, says that the arrest of Hossein Derakhshan has been confirmed by his family in Tehran. The arrest has also been confirmed by a friend of the family’s, as quoted in today’sThe Globe & Mail. To be clear, I myself, have not spoken with anyone in Hoder’s family yet.

Sanam writes:

My friend Nazli finally got the OK from Hossein Derakhshan’s sister, Azadeh Derakhshan, to publicly announce that Hossein Derakhshan, one of the first Iranian bloggers, was arrested on the afternoon of November 1, in Tehran.

I am quoting this news from Nazli Kamvari, a friend of Hossein Derakhshan and an Iranian blogger living in Toronto, who has been directly in touch with Hossein’s sister and just wrote about this news in her Persian blog.

My understanding is that Hossein’s family has been under pressure from the authorities not to talk about Hossein’s arrest and not to get a lawyer for him. So, it is understandable that they are not talking to the media. But we at least can assure both the Persian and global blogosphere, who were previously in doubts about Hossein’s arrest, that he’s really arrested.

Hossein has gone through various changes in his politics and he has rubbed many activists the wrong way, including myself. (I personally don’t approve his politics and we have had couple of fierce arguments and fights in the past few months.) However, we should not have double standards when we deal with human rights. Any human being should be entitled to freedom of expression and should have access to an attorney while in jail. I hope human rights advocates start campaigning for Hossein Derakhshan.

Update: I personally talked to his sister, too. She is very worried about Hossein. We should be careful with the way we spread the news not to have a negative effect. Absolutley no neocon propaganda shit.

November 21: Cyrus on PRI’s The World

Dear Friends,

I’ve been informed that my radio piece on the possible arrest of Iranian-Canadian blogger Hossein Derakhshan will be airing today.

It will be available on any of these stations (and their Internet streams):

New York – 3 pm Eastern – WNYC – 820 AM – www.wnyc.org
Washington, DC – 8 pm Eastern – WAMU – 88.5 FM – www.wamu.org
Los Angeles – 12 pm Pacific – KPCC – 89.3 FM – www.kpcc.opg
Boston – 4 pm Eastern – WGBH – 89.7 FM – www.wgbh.org
San Francisco – 2 pm Pacific – KQED – 88.5 FM – www.kqed.org

You can also find it on The World’s site later in the day and on my site if you miss the broadcast.

Also, don’t forget about The World’s Tech Podcast, hosted by my boss, Clark Boyd. It comes out every Friday.

Lemme know if you hear it!

Update: Audio is here.

Was Hossein Derakhshan really arrested in Tehran?

Iranian-Canadian blogger Hossein “Hoder” Derakhshan may or may not have been arrested recently in Tehran.

One Iranian site, Jahan News, is reporting that he has been — citing “reliable sources” — and up until now, that’s all we have.

And yet, UPI, the Jerusalem Post, Ha’aretz, The Guardian and others are all treating this as fact, using one possibly dubious Iranian newspaper as the sole source. It’s even made the Iranian equivalent of Digg, Balatarin (“Highest”). For the record, NPR is taking a more skeptical view, and reports: “A spokesman for the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations, however, told NPR that he had no information about the incident.”

So, a little background: Hoder is largely credited as being one of the early pioneers for Persian-language blogging. He wrote a lot about blogging and tech for Iranian newspapers and helped spawn what’s become one of the largest blogging communities relative to its linguistic size.

However, over the last couple of years, he’s rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, to say the least. He’s taken some pretty strong political stances, and has apparently made attacks against many people who perhaps at one time considered him as a friend, or at least an icon.

Since I woke up this morning, I’ve been trading emails with various people in the US and Iran to try and sort this all out. Some believe that it’s real — he hasn’t posted on his English blog since October 6 2008, nor his Persian blog since October 19 2008. Others wonder about the legitimacy of the whole affair, thinking that it might be staged, given that he wrote on October 15 2008:

[Translation by Hamid Tehrani]:

If something happen to me I do not want any news, declaration . . . to be published in English, in international scene, in Persian media in USA, Netherlands . . . and so on . . .

Still, no one I’ve talked to has been able to find anything that isn’t sourced from Jahan News. One source simply isn’t enough to go on.