Under Khamenei, threats to family members–including rape
threats–have always been a standard and blessed tactic when directed
at political prisoners. Nothing new about that. However keep your
eye on a new pattern that seems to be developing.
A few days ago I pointed out what seems to be a new approach to
silence and intimidate top opposition leaders–targeting their
children. Two cases occurred in a remarkably short period of
time. Certainly that could be a mere coincidence but now there’s a third
within days of the second. Each is aimed at a different opposition
leader. Given the infamous character of this regime, I’m starting to dout the idea of “coincidence.”
ITEM: With the regime allegedly hot on his tail, one of Rafsanjani’s son recently fled to London.
ITEM: A few days ago Seepah hauled off the daughter of Mousavi’s campaign manager and chief advisor. See:
http://iran.whyweprotest.net/news-current-events/4…
ITEM: Is it Karoubbi’s turn. The regime has issued a warrant for his son’s
arrest. As with Rafsanjani’s kid, rigging up “corruption: charges–so
easy to invent for the regime that rigs elections or tortures people to confess–has become the
weapon of choice in the new campaign to “discredit” opponents. I doubt it will work. Like the show trials, instead of convincing the public, the sole effect will be to reinforce growing public contempt for Khamenei, Ahmadinejad, Jafari and the rest of that ugly crowd.
http://www.roozonline.com/english/news/newsitem/ar…
QUESTION: Haven’t
members of Khatami’s family also been threatened? I believe I saw
something like that a week or so ago but I’m not certain.
At the
same time and on consecutive days we’ve also seen the raids of both
Mousavi’s and Kourabbi’s headquarters. Khamenei must hate to see how
popular reform clerics are compared to himself yet everything he does
these days increases the gap in popular affections. How the Supreme
Despot can believe–after all his crimes–that the public can ever be
persuaded to love the him or his increasingly Taliban-like form of
Islam simply by manipulating the press and academia is way beyond me.
Has
the regime declared war on the top opposition leaders? Is their arrest
imminent? Will they back down? If not, how will the regime look when
it arrests humane clerics like Khatami and Kourabbi–both so popular
with the masses? How will the people respond? Can even the
Republican Guard and Basilj be trusted to remain loyal?
Rooz is
also carrying a report that several members of the IRCG have supposedly resigned
recently in protest againsr Jafari’s behavior. On that, see:
