Since June 2009, when Iran’s rigged presidential election was held, the international community has learned much about the Green Movement and the courageous Iranians who have supported its struggle against the hardliners. Neda Agha Soltan, one of the first martyrs of the Green Movement, has become a household name. The world knows that the movement has had at least 110 martyrs, some of whose families were jailed, simply because they protested the murders of their loved ones. It also knows that Iran has become a hell for journalists, with many jailed and at least 30 effectively forced into exile in 2010 alone. At the same time, the international community has learned much about the courageous attorney and journalist Nasrin Sotoudeh, currently imprisoned and, until a few days ago, on a hunger strike. The repression has grown so severe that even Majles deputy Ali Motahhari, brother-in-law of Majles Speaker Ali Larijani, recently said that his colleagues do not dare to question Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, because they are afraid that he will destroy their lives. Another deputy, Sayyed Reza Akrami, concurred. And keep in mind that this is the Majles that was elected after the draconian vetting by the Guardian Council in 2008.
But there are many other brave figures who have been arrested and given long jail sentences following show trials who are little known to the world. There are many who are languishing in prison and are just as deserving of receiving attention as those on … >>>
