IRAN: Slain protester's mother speaks out to Mousavi and wife
Opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi and his wife, Zahra Rahnavard, made their first public appearance in weeks on Tuesday night at the home of slain protester Sohrab Aarabi, whose activist mother, Parvin Fahimi, appears to be gearing up for a full-fledged publicity war against the regime.
Since her son's fate came to light earlier this week, Fahimi has placed herself and her family at the forefront of a wave of popular outrage directed at the highest levels of government. The video below shows her sitting in what appears to be the family room with Mousavi and his wife, surrounded by pictures of her son draped in a green scarf, a symbol of the opposition.
Fahimi, an active member of Mothers for Peace, reportedly told the reformist news website Norooznews.org that she would seek justice in domestic and, if need be, international courts. The website went on to report Mousavi's promise to the family that he wouldn't "let the blood of these youth go in vain."
The 19-year-old Aarabi disappeared during a protest on June 15, but the official coroner's report is dated June 19 and his body was not returned by authorities until nearly a month later. Video footage of a desperate Fahimi pleading for information on her son outside Evin prison has provoked outcry over the suspicious circumstances surrounding the teenager's death.
The government maintains that only 20 people died in the postelection protests, but human rights groups, independent media and relatives of the disappeared put the number as high as 150 and claim the government is delaying the release of bodies in an attempt to disguise the real number.
The official website of 2009 presidential contender Mehdi Karroubi's National Trust Party reported Wednesday that the families of at least 46 missing people have come forward for help, while Aarabi's mother says she was asked to identify her son from an album of five dozen or so individuals' pictures.
Last month, footage of 26-year-old Neda Agha Sultan bleeding to death on a Tehran street sparked worldwide protests and became a galvanizing force for the opposition. If more families follow Fahimi's example by refusing to stay quiet on the fate of their loved ones, the regime could see its crackdown backfire by creating a new generation of martyr-heroes.
Mousavi's visit to the family comes on the heels of his announcement that he will form a new political "front," which, in Iran, is similar to a party but lacks the legal authority to call for political rallies.
Similar fronts have been formed in the past but failed to gain much influence. Mahmoud Abbaszadeh Meshkini, director of the political office of the Ministry of Interior, said today that such fronts or alliances must also get permission to operate, according to the Iranian Students News Agency.
— Meris Lutz in Beirut
Photo: Mir-Hossein Mousavi and his popular wife, Zahra Rahnavard, express condolences to Parvin Fahimi, mother of the 19-year-old slain protester Sohrab Aarabi. Credit: news.gooya.com.
Video: Fahimi tells her story to opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi. Credit: YouTube
Hey Amir-jan,
Are you saying that those 3 million people who poured into the streets of Tehran, Shiraz and Esfahan and other cities after the election were all agents of the foreigners? Who are you an agent of? Who is paying you to post messages here? Maybe you're not carrying whips and truncheons like your filthy brethren in the Basij and Ansar Hezbollah, but you are one of them and everyone in the world knows it.
Omid
Posted by: Omid | July 16, 2009 at 07:36 AM
The rioters were organized and directed by out side organized forces specially by MKO and British embassay.
I saw three motorcycles each carrying two Basijis on North of Kaj. There were killers heading the protesters. I think the human rights organizations are supporting US, UK and Isreal - the state terrorism at its best!
Posted by: Amir | July 16, 2009 at 07:29 AM
Khamenei and his son Mojtaba should be brought in front of
international courts ,Rest of his sons are innocent and not charged yet , we should learn how a civic society functions, otherwise we are not better than Khamenei and his followers
Posted by: mojesabz | July 15, 2009 at 08:22 PM
Well. China killed 140 civilians in some minutes. Where are the similar videos translated to english? israel and USA killed thousands of civilians in different countries the recetn years. WHere are the mothers who wanted to remove the regimes of these countries.
This mother is poor and her son is poor. I blame the killing of her son. But i think those people were manipulated. They refused the winning of President nejad. I do not get it. If they refuse and keep insistign on cencelling the elections - why the justice is for. where is their belief in the republican system in iran. Unless they do not believe in this......
Posted by: SAMI LIPKIN | July 15, 2009 at 03:20 PM
Ali Khamenei and his followers are pure criminals whom we must bring in front of peoples court. Khamenei and his family must taste result of their evil actions. This brain dead Mullah has cause plenty of grief to Iranian nation solely to hold his filthy grip to power.
Posted by: Javadi | July 15, 2009 at 11:12 AM