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Iran Tries To Pacify Protesters With Lord of The Rings Marathon
Iranian state television's Channel Two is playing a Lord of the Rings marathon in an attempt to keep people inside watching hobbits and not protesting in the streets. Normally, people in Tehran are treated to one or two Hollywood movies a week, but with recent events the government hopes that sitting through a nine-hour trilogy will take the fight out of most of the protesters. Perhaps this was not the best choice in films if you want your people not to believe that "even the smallest person can change the course of the future."
http://iran.whyweprotest.net/news-current-events/2327-green-brief-8-a.html
1. The event of the day was the protest held at Baharestan Square in the late afternoon. Although the exact number cannot be fully known, my sources claimed somewhere between 5,000-10,000 people tried to join the rally. Things got violent when security forces that had been waiting there for hours moved in as soon as a small crowd had managed to gather. They used force to brutalize the protesters and scatter them faster then they could regroup. Police were also patrolling the areas around Baharestan and people were attacked even as they fled Baharestan and go to the outer edges of the area. This continued for at least two hours.
2. Force was utilized without discrimination; however, media reports about a complete massacre cannot be confirmed by my more reliable sources. What I can confirm is at least 3 people were killed; the police used batons to beat people quite viciously - leaving dozens injured, not just in Baharestan but also in the areas around Baharestan. Shots were also fired and at least 2 of the fatalities were as a result of gunfire. Tear gas was also used to disperse them. We cannot confirm the use of axes on protesters. It could have been isolated incidents. But a wide-spread use cannot be confirmed. There were reports of killings at Lalehzar as well. Lalezhzar is a park in Tehran which has been completely taken over by security forces and is being used as a quasi-de fact base. Pictures are scarce and videos cannot be confirmed at this point either. The police were checking cell phones throughout the area as well as in other parts of the city and deleting images or videos or confiscating the phone altogether.
3. The area was surrounded also by vans and cars belonging to the security forces. Injured protesters and those protesters the police could hold onto were promptly thrown into these vehicles and moved to undisclosed locations. It has been suggested that Evin prison is being used to house most of the prisoners, but the sheer number of protesters easily could mean that make-shift prisons have been built around Tehran to house these people. Some sources indicated as well, but this cannot be confirmed right away. Most shops around Baharestan were closed so people had nowhere to hide. Cell phone service was also jammed so no help could arrive for those stranded and the vicious and wide-spread beatings and arrests could continue.
4. The security forces were being heavily helped by helicopters. They flew all over the city and informed security forces of places where people had gathered. Security forces arrived in minutes and dispersed crowd. However, people were extremely persistent. Gatherings and small rallies took place in several places and the quicker they were dispersed the quicker more sprang up. This continued late into the night until people dispersed on their own. The sheer tenacity of the protesters is heartening and many twitter sources indicated that no matter what happens they will go to streets and protest. Hezbollah e Ansar were also spotted from time to time. Plainclothesmen also did their part of the arrests as they drove around the city in motorcycles.
5. There were also other arrests in Iran today. At least 70 university professors and other professionals held a meeting today with Mousavi at the end of which, all of them were arrested as they exited the meeting area. Reports also confirm that Mousavi's chief lawyer, Ardsher Amir Arjman has also been arrested. There is no real confirmation of whether Mousavi has been arrested or he's free. However, there are strong indications and SOME sources that claim he is currently under house arrest. For a partial list, please click here: List