A correspondent in Tehran
The Guardian
The Iranian authorities have ordered the family of Neda Agha Soltan out of their Tehran home after shocking images of her death were circulated around the world.
Neighbours said that her family no longer lives in the four-floor apartment building on Meshkini Street, in eastern Tehran, having been forced to move since she was killed. The police did not hand the body back to her family, her funeral was cancelled, she was buried without letting her family know and the government banned mourning ceremonies at mosques, the neighbours said.
"We just know that they [the family] were forced to leave their flat," a neighbour said. The Guardian was unable to contact the family directly to confirm if they had been forced to leave.
The government is also accusing protesters of killing Soltan, describing her as a martyr of the Basij militia. Javan, a pro-government newspaper, has gone so far as to blame the recently expelled BBC correspondent, Jon Leyne, of hiring "thugs" to shoot her so he could make a documentary film.
Soltan was shot dead on Saturday evening near the scene of clashes between pro-government militias and demonstrators, turning her into a symbol of the Iranian protest movement. Barack Obama spoke of the "searing image" of Soltan's dying moments at his press conference yesterday.
| Cindy |
June 25th, 2009 4:56 pm ET I figured that with all of the notoriety that Neda got that the Iranian government would come down hard on her family. I can't believe though that they wouldn't even let them have her body or even be there when they buried her. That is ridiculous!! I hope that they are safe and have found somewhere else to live! Cindy..Ga. |
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| Cynthia |
June 25th, 2009 5:15 pm ET i think its really sad that our president is not doing anything how he is the president and his not even helping the only reason that Our president got voted president is because Persian-Armenians and Armenians in the U.S vote for him if he doesnt help then that\rquote s messed up and right now his not doing anything so many young people get killed for no reason they want FREEDDOM ! im 15 and i think the president in Iran is VERY selfish.\par |
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| Uday Menon |
June 25th, 2009 5:16 pm ET "The More I know About Man ... The More I Love My Dog" - George Bernard Shaw |
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| Di |
June 25th, 2009 5:19 pm ET My heart goes out to her family. It's a terrible act , that a ypoung women in her age be killed in the steet of TehranI allegedly by Iranian secret police. I just have one remark about how CNN and Ac 360 which I am great fan for Anderson and Erica. How in the earth we talk about a the death of an Iranian women and we can't hear Ac360 talking about the death of Chris leggett who grew up in Cleveland, Tennessee, taught at a centre specialising in computer science and languages in a working-class neighbourhood of the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott. Mr. Leggett was killed in Mauritania yesterday by Al-qaeda's North African branch. |
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| tyler |
June 25th, 2009 5:35 pm ET unbelievable. What a horrible government they have- my prayers go out to the Iranians who wish to live free |
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| Maria Cruz |
June 25th, 2009 6:01 pm ET If you look around the world most of the worlds horrors are being caused by religions that preach peace and their leaders practice horrible violence. |
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| Maria Cruz |
June 25th, 2009 6:06 pm ET CNN should do a better job in covering these horrible happenings around the world. Stories about Michael Jackson should be left for the tabloids. Most of the time I can not stand to watch Fox News, but they did not drop the ball this time in covering the horrible things happening in Iran. It is so very important for major news channels to cover these terrible events and to try and shame those governments responsible into changing their ways. |
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| maria cruz |
June 25th, 2009 6:10 pm ET What a horrible government to do such a thing for the sake of maintaining that outdated and moribund government. Horrible! The Iranian government is behaving like animals. That poor girl and her family. If you look around the world most of the worlds horrors are being caused by religions that preach peace and their leaders practice horrible violence. |
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| Kamran Pirnahad |
June 25th, 2009 6:53 pm ET The circumstances of her death is in deed suspicious. In the video footage there doesn't seem any basiji or police shooting going on at that particular time. The rooftops seem also to be too far away, and if there were any shooting onto the crowd most likely other people could have been shot too. It is possible that she might have been targeted all along and even staged up on that day. She just has a profile that might have caused envy, even among her own people. Unfortunately, there is no way that anyone can investigate this vicious crime and come to a decisive conclusion as what to really happened. |
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| Mari |
June 25th, 2009 7:07 pm ET The U.S. does not understand the politics nor the culture of Iran. For years, the U.S. supported the reign of terror that was the Shah of Iran, whose secret police terrorized its citizens. How many 100's of thousands were killed then? Neda is a hero, to us and to her people. The U.S. must be cautious or risk the ire of the ayatollahs who will use any excuse to round up and kill the protestors! Freedom is not free. And Democracy can not be "imported" it must be born in the hearts and minds of the Iranian people. |
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| Rany Ibrahim |
June 25th, 2009 8:08 pm ET Neda – The Divine Calling 'Angel of Freedom' Neda Agha Soltan; She is a Symbol, a Meaning, a Movement. After killing of Neda Agah Soltan by the Iranian paramilitary group, I think the West will never look the same way again towards Iran. Now we will have to differentiate between the regime and the people of Iran in our foreign policy. Neda changed the stereotype way the West look to women in the Middle East societies. She is the new face of women not only in Iran, but also in the Middle East. We are not mourning her, but celebrating her. Neda couldn’t stand the injustice; she simply wished to see her vote counted. Regardless to the outcomes or the results of the current situation, Iranians already “Won”. They won the attention, the sympathy, and the respect of the entire World. The Iranian regime exploited the judicial institutions and used the elections to take a role in notorious play to reinforce its claim to a ceremonial legal legitimacy. However, the regime knows that rule-of-law can be a double-edged sword that can undermine the regime ability to have full control on the country. And here we are now; it will never be the same again in Iran. It’s too late to step back or turn time and events around. The divine is calling for freedom, and Neda, Iran “Angels of Freedom,” is watching from above. |
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| Annie Kate |
June 25th, 2009 9:50 pm ET I am shocked at the insensitivity of the Iranian government towards Neda's family; to not return the body to them or allow them to have a funeral and do traditional mourning and bury her is bad enough but to evict them from their home at a time like this is inhumane. This Iranian government needs to be overthrown. They have proved that with this latest outrage. The government has stirred up more outrage and trouble for themselves with these actions concerning Neda than they would have if they had just let local custom be carried out and Neda's family given a chance to grieve and have her funeral. |
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