Executions in Iran

Early morning Thursday, January 28, 2010 the government of Iran executed two young men—Arash Rahmanipour, a teenager, and Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani—on the basis of moharebeh or fighting against God and God’s government. Another nine protesters are on death row under similar charges. Capital punishment has been a frequently used method of punishment in Iran since 1979. From the first days of establishing the Islamic judicial system, tens of thousands have been executed for political activities, economic charges, involvement in extramarital relationships and numerous other violations of the rule of government and Islamic sharia.

Thursday’s executions are a warning by the government to millions of Iranians who are preparing themselves for anti-government protests on February 11, 2010. This is an important day in the history of Iran: 31 years ago, people were able to overthrow another dictatorship ruled by Pahlavi dynasty. But the days of people breathing in what they called the “Spring of Freedom” were very short. The newly established Islamic regime used similar and even harsher ways of suffocating any demands for equality for women, a decent standard of living for working people and freedom of expression for the vast majority of people.

The anniversaries of February 11 were stolen and taken over by the Islamic government for 29 years. This year, people have declared their intent to come out and liberate the streets as they did in many occasions in 2009: June 14–20, July 9, September 18, December 7 and 27. Many Iranians are seeing a population that is eager enough to get rid of this brutal regime and a government that, in spite of its cruelty, is unable to rule. This is the moment of social revolution—people do not want to live under the present system and the government is losing all its methods of oppression.

During his Friday, January 29 prayer in Tehran, the Imam Ahmad Jannati told government [loyalists] that he is thankful the head of the judiciary (Sadeq Larijani) expedited the executions of these two prisoners who, as he claimed, were in charge of the “events after the election.” “Events after the election” is a phrase used by authority figures to describe the revolution that is evolving in Iran. Jannati asked for more executions, adding that if the government had killed more [earlier], the protests of December 27 would never happen. He is wrong. In Iran and around the world, these executions have been condemned. We will ask everyone to show their support for the movement for equality, freedom and a humane republic in Iran.

—Yasi Bayani

Koerner’s deposit policy

Hi, Ubyssey. I would like publicize the new level of creativity in Koerner’s Pub management. Earlier they used to accept student IDs as deposits for foosball balls. Now they realize that the balls are far more precious than IDs and are accepting no less than a credit card or your licence! Allegedly, they do this as some students get away with the precious [foosball balls]. I don’t know how  [many] such cases they have seen…but I don’t think anyone will actually forgo their ID for a ball until and unless insanely drunk…they could have asked for a [cautionary] deposit if needed, but [a] credit card is too much!

—Venu Kurellas

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