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To: DoctorZIn
Anouncement: "Forbidden Iran" -- Must Viewing -- DoctorZin

Public Broadcasting Service - Frontline Edition
Jan 8, 2004

1) Anouncement:

FRONTLINE/World Program
Will air on Thursday, January 8, 2004; 9 P.M. (check local listings)

This edition of "FRONTLINE/World," PBS's international newsmagazine, includes a harrowing report from Iran, where reporter Jane Kokan risks her life to secretly film shocking evidence of a government-sponsored reign of terror.

In "Forbidden Iran," Kokan escapes the constant surveillance of the Iranian authorities to record exclusive interviews detailing the systematic torture and execution of students opposed to the current regime.

2) STORY:

In July 2003, Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi was tortured and murdered by Iranian security agents after she attempted to report on the growing opposition movement in Iran. FRONTLINE/World correspondent Jane Kokan risks her personal safety to follow in Kazemi's footsteps, traveling undercover to Iran to investigate the clerical regime's latest crackdown on students, journalists and dissidents. "I want to find out what happened to [Kazemi]," says Kokan, "and the story she died trying to tell."

Iran is a theocratic republic ruled by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and a council of mullahs, who control the prisons, courts and security forces. Students and dissidents pushing for change want the mullahs out of power and replaced with a more democratic government. But the Islamic regime has come down hard on political opponents, deploying security forces and packs of Bassijis, Islamic vigilantes, against dissidents. Ten Iranian journalists are currently jailed for writing critically about the regime, and foreign journalists are seriously restricted in Iran.

Kokan's journey starts in London, where she meets members of the Iranian diaspora. They share with her their personal stories, as well as amateur videos and other evidence they've smuggled out of Iran documenting attacks against students and dissidents.

At a peaceful demonstration at the Iranian Embassy in London, Kokan meets a young leader of the Independent Student Movement, Iman Samizadez. "I'm looking for [a] free Iran, without religion," Samizadez tells Kokan. "People, they can have religion as a private thing. But in a political way, we are looking for a free country."

In London, Kokan uncovers photographs documenting the bloody aftermath of a raid on a student dormitory in Tehran in the summer of 2003. The raid was carried out by vigilantes armed with machetes, metal pipes, chains and butcher knives.

Kokan also learns that some 4,000 Iranian student activists were arrested after protests in Tehran and other cities in June 2003 and at least 500 remain in prison for their democratic beliefs. Amir Fakhravar, a student movement leader and hero, is among the men and women Kokan will attempt to make contact with while in Iran. Punished for writing a book promoting democracy and free speech, Fakhravar is serving an eight-year prison sentence at Qasr Prison in Tehran. In a video recorded before he went to prison last year, Fakhravar prepares his mother for his execution, which he believes is imminent. "I don't [want] you to have that sad face. I want [you] at that moment they're hanging me, to stand proudly and say, 'I'm proud of my son,'" he says. In prison, Fakhravar has suffered regular beatings and torture.

Iran's aging mullahs have reason to be concerned about the young pro-democracy movement: 70 percent of Iranians are under age 30 and many have access to Western ideas and culture via the Internet and satellite television.

After months of negotiating access, Kokan is finally able to enter Iran in September 2003. Pretending to be an archaeologist, she crosses the Turkish border with a group touring the country's ancient ruins. Once inside, Kokan is assigned an official minder and her hotel room and phone are monitored. She must be extremely careful as she tries to make contact with Iran's underground student movement. She slips out at night to communicate by email, using a secret code she's developed to communicate with colleagues and sources. But she is careful to return by curfew or risk the hotel receptionist's reporting her to the police.

One night, Kokan shakes her minder to meet a friend of imprisoned student leader Fakhravar. Kokan pledges to protect the friend's identity, and he describes the ever-present security forces in Iran and the impact of a police state on daily life. "Our dream country is one where human rights are respected," he tells Kokan, "where people aren't sent to prison and tortured for their ideas, for their writing, for their work. That's our dream country."

Dodging her minders again, Kokan finds and films the anonymous site in Shiraz where journalist Zahra Kazemi's body is buried.

After two weeks, Kokan's tour group finally arrives in Tehran. Here in the capital city, Kokan encounters the tightest security yet, but she still manages to sneak away from the tour to meet a young activist who has been arrested four times and a political dissident, active since the 1970s, who has been supporting the student movement. To make a political statement, both men insist on showing their faces on camera, despite the risk of serious reprisal. The student activist tells Kokan that his movement wants support from the West, but does not want a U.S. military invasion like the one in Iraq.

The dissident, whom Kokan calls Arzhang, proves to be her most important contact in Iran. Arzhang gains access to a telephone line inside one of Iran's toughest prisons and sets up a telephone interview for Kokan with Fakhravar. The student leader tells Kokan of personally witnessing the murders of 19 student activists. But before he can answer whether he fears his own death in prison, the telephone is disconnected.

In the outskirts of Tehran, Kokan further interviews Arzhang, who shares information about Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi's last days. "She fought [the interrogators] back, she criticized them, she shouted," Arzhang says. "They cannot endure critics and she fought them back strongly."

As the final days of the group tour approach, Kokan must prepare for her departure, destroying all notes and other evidence of her unofficial business in Iran. Students smuggle her interview tapes over the mountains into Turkey, where she will pick them up later.

After her safe return, Kokan travels to Amsterdam to interview a former Iranian intelligence officer, Hamid Zakeri, who defected more than a year ago. Zakeri, who once worked for the Ayatollah Khamenei, now claims to be under the protection of the FBI and European security agencies. Zakeri tells Kokan that according to his intelligence sources, a security agent named Jafar Nemati was responsible for the beatings of Kazemi. After she was beaten unconscious, Nemati's boss, Saeed Mortesavi, a top judge in the mullahs' justice ministry, ordered Kazemi to be transferred into the custody of the intelligence ministry. Kokan learns that the details Zakeri provided were later confirmed in an investigation by the Iranian parliament.

In Iran, Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi tells FRONTLINE/World that she is determined to pursue an investigation of Zahra Kazemi's death. After months of reporting, Kokan makes a last trip to Montreal, Canada, where Zahra Kazemi's son, Stefan, lives. Stefan is still struggling with the Iranian government for the return of his mother's body, which will provide indisputable evidence of her brutal death.

"The guilty is not one man," Stefan says. "Responsible is the Iranian government, responsible is Khamenei. My mother's dead, but there [are] journalists, other people that get such treatment. I don't want the death of my mother to be in vain."

3) Links & Resources:

• General Background
• The Student and Reform Movements
• Press Freedoms
• U.S.-Iran Relations and the Nuclear Issue
• Media Resources
• Weblogs

General Background

BBC Country Profile
This BBC News profile of Iran includes a brief history of the country since the 1979 revolution, a short biography of current president Mohammad Khatami and a summary of media in Iran. It also provides a succinct time line of the country's history since 1907.

UT Library Online
The University of Texas at Austin has archived a number of Central Intelligence Agency-created maps detailing Iran's regions and cities.

Presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran
The homepage of President Mohammad Khatami, president of Iran since 1997, includes his biography, an audio archive of his speeches (in Persian) and links to other government Web sites.

Ayatollah Khamenei of Iran
This is the official Web site of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's chief of state.

UNICEF Statistics
The United Nations Children's Fund provides basic demographic and health statistics on Iran, such as infant mortality rate, literacy rate by gender and statistics on women's development.

The Story of the Revolution
This is a four-part radio story about the Islamic Revolution of 1979 produced by the BBC Persian Service, with text in English.

The Student and Reform Movements

Daneshjoo
The Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iran (SMCCDI), also known as Daneshjoo, is a leading Iranian student group. Formed in 1997, its members are organizing to promote nonviolence, democracy and secularism in Iran. Its Web site includes articles from the group's newsletter and other media reports on student efforts; action alerts and discussion boards; and amateur video recordings of student demonstrations.

"Backers of Iranian Reform Fight Tide of Frustration"
This article by Afshin Molavi, published in the SMCCDI's newsletter, examines Iranian students' growing discontent and impatience with Iran's reformist president, Mohammad Khatami. The article details a pro-democracy student group's break with the reformists and the group's open letter to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. The group charges that its former allies were incapable of achieving democracy, human rights and freedom in Iran. (July 13, 2003)

Amnesty International Public Statement
This July 2003 statement by Amnesty International expresses concern over the Iranian government's treatment of student activists and demonstrators. Thousands of students were arrested during 2003 summer demonstrations against efforts to privatize universities in Iran. The statement includes background on the student activists and their clashes with Iranian police and vigilantes. The site also has links to other Amnesty International reports on Iran.

The Campaign to Free Iran's Students
This London-based human rights organization is campaigning for the release of dozens of imprisoned student activists in Iran.

"A Revolution Short of a Leader"
International relations expert Dr. Hooman Peimani argues that Iran's growing intellectual opposition to the theocratic rule needs firm leadership and more popular support in order to become a powerful force of reform. (Asia Times, June 2003)

"Iran's Hard-Liners Reject Reform Bills Approved by Parliament"
Nazila Fathi reports on bills to expand civil rights in Iran and the blow to the reform movement when the bills were rejected by the country's hard-line Guardian Council. (The New York Times, Aug. 14, 2003) (Registration required)

"Iran: Revolting Against the Revolution?"
Heritage Foundation Research Fellow James A. Phillips argues for the use of economic sanctions against Iran to support the country's grassroots movement for reform. (Heritage Foundation, WebMemo #298, June 18, 2003)

"Iran's Municipal Elections: A Turning Point for the Reform Movement?"
This article, published by the Washington Institute, discusses the implications of the February 2003 municipal elections in Iran on reform efforts in the country. Author Ray Takeyh, a professor at the National Defense University, examines Iran's lowest voter turnout in 24 years and the resurgence of the right. (Policy Watch, March 6, 2003)

"Tehran Mostly Quiet After Fourth Anniversary of Pro-Democracy Protests"
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Charles Recknagel covers Iranian student demonstrators' clashes with police on the fourth anniversary of nationwide pro-democracy protests in 1999. Recknagel reports that student activity was relatively subdued, confirming the success of police and hard-line vigilante groups in keeping Iran's reformist students off the streets. (RFE/RL, July 10, 2003)

Profile: Shirin Ebadi
BBC News profiles human rights activist Shirin Ebadi, who recently becamethe first Iranian to win the Nobel Peace Prize. The 56-year-old woman has been a key figure in the reform movement and is credited with being a driving force behind the reform of family laws in Iran, including laws regulating divorce and inheritances. Ebadi was the first female judge in her country, but was forced to resign when women were banned from holding such posts. She went on to establish a law practice, taking on politically sensitive cases that other Iranian lawyers wouldn't touch. (BBC News, Oct. 10, 2003)

Women and Social Change in Iran
The Asia Society convened a panel of experts on Iranian women's human rights to discuss social reform in Iran. Discussion highlights of the November 2003 panel and short biographies of the panelists are posted on the organization's Web site.

"Iran's Best-Known Female Dancer ... Detained on Charges..."
Associated Press reporter Ali Akbar Dareini reports on the recent arrests of Iran's best-known female dancer, Farzaneh Kaboli, and 24 of her students on charges of dancing in public. The women were performing at Tehran's prestigious Vahdat Hall for an all-female audience when police detained them. Although there are no written laws against dancing, Iran's hard-line clerics have banned the activity, saying it promotes moral corruption. Kaboli's students were released, but she is still in custody at Evin Prison. (The San Francisco Chronicle, Dec. 25, 2003.)

4) Production:

Reported and Filmed by
Jane Kokan

Additional Camera
Mohammed Moujahir

Produced and Directed by
Carla Garapedian

Editor
Camilla Tress

Associate Producer
Alison Aylen

Consultant
Behzad Yaghmaian

Additional Footage
Reuters
Lasso Films and TV (Netherlands)
IHA
IRIB

Music
Michael Ormiston

Executive Producer
David Henshaw

A Hardcash Productions Film for FRONTLINE/World and Channel 4

http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_4452.shtml
5 posted on 01/07/2004 12:14:51 AM PST by DoctorZIn (Until they are free, we shall all be Iranians!)
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To: Pan_Yans Wife; fat city; freedom44; Tamsey; Grampa Dave; PhiKapMom; McGavin999; Hinoki Cypress; ...
Announcement: "Forbidden Iran" -- Must Viewing -- DoctorZin

Public Broadcasting Service - Frontline Edition
Jan 8, 2004

FRONTLINE/World Program
Will air on Thursday, January 8, 2004; 9 P.M. (check local listings)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1053126/posts?page=5#5
7 posted on 01/07/2004 12:17:01 AM PST by DoctorZIn (Until they are free, we shall all be Iranians!)
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To: DoctorZIn
I'll be setting the vcr for that tomorrow. Sounds very interesting.
8 posted on 01/07/2004 12:23:21 AM PST by mseltzer (Go Eagles!)
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To: DoctorZIn
Anouncement: "Forbidden Iran" -- Must Viewing -- DoctorZin

Public Broadcasting Service - Frontline Edition
Jan 8, 2004

3) Links & Resources:

• General Background



• Media Resources } Iranian Alert - Iran Live Thread -- Free Republic.com
• Weblogs

: )


54 posted on 01/07/2004 4:23:36 PM PST by nuconvert ("This wasn't just plain terrible, this was fancy terrible. This was terrible with raisins in it.")
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To: DoctorZIn; F14 Pilot; Grampa Dave; MeeknMing; autoresponder; BOBTHENAILER; SAMWolf; ...
Here is a story of one woman's courage in reporting the reign of terror of the maggot mullahs.

This Islamovigilantism is so ChiCom-electric-baton-against-Falun-Gong-women.

Will Canada come out of its opiate stupor over the beating death of its journalist?

[Pipes reports Neo-Nazi feted at Toronto Islamist confab by top Canadian officials.]

Will Powell get out of his tutu and quit doing the diplofairy minuet with these gestapo schmucks?

Regime change required--not "dialogue".

56 posted on 01/07/2004 7:05:17 PM PST by PhilDragoo (Hitlery: das Butch von Buchenvald)
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