As the Iranian people continue to display what many consider courage in Iran, a video of a young woman's death has been posted on Facebook, bringing cries of outrage everywhere. Citizen journalists are front line in reporting on- the- ground events.
I report this story as a conduit from Iranians who are friends of mine on Facebook. One of them posted the story of the Iranian woman martyr and her picture, along with a video link. The picture and video tell the story more than words, but the words of those who join the outcries for justice are poignant indeed.
The story and responses are in Farsi, the language of Iran, written in Arabic letters but that doesn’t translate into English with Google as Arabic would. Therefore, a brief summary of events, given in English were given to me through email as follows (sic):
"ya this a persian girl shot today to death her name is neda and she wasin the protest against ahmadinejad and all the government which claims to be muslem and they dont regard power and working for god they are the most tyranical government ..This is iran with modern people but the worth government which they dont deserve"
This came just before I received a message from an Iranian on Facebook, translated into English directly from Iran to my comment on his video, then gone within minutes, his detailed story erased, but his link as a friend that remains. He is the channel for news from the streets onto the Facebook page of Masouri, the head of the opposition party and the center of controversy with respect to the election in Iran. Another man provided this information, directly as text with the video which is
here:
Here is a detailed description of events from one of my Iranian friends on Facebook, who is now living in Sweden with all of his family in Tehran:
Basij shots to death a young woman in Tehran's Saturday June 20th protests At 19:05 June 20th Place: Karekar Ave., at the corner crossing Khosravi St. and Salehi st. A young woman who was standing aside with her father watching the protests was shot by a basij member hiding on the rooftop of a civilian house. He had clear shot at the girl and could not miss her. However, he aimed straight her heart. I am a doctor, so I rushed to try to save her. But the impact of the gunshot was so fierce that the bullet had blasted inside the victim's chest, and she died in less than 2 minutes. The protests were going on about 1 kilometers away in the main street and some of the protesting crowd were running from tear gass used among them, towards Salehi St. The film is shot by my friend who was standing beside me. Please let the world know.
Many comments follow the posting of the video, reflecting the concern of Iranians not just in Iran but in the United States and other parts of the world. Messages that come in an instant may be gone just as quickly as people recognize the risks from posting news directly from Iran during the demonstrations. Facebook remains a major source for people to share their feelings, as citizens from Iran and their friends around the world write in Farsi and in English from many places including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada and other countries.
Martyrdom by a young woman, following direct statements from Ahmadinejad and the Ayatolla Khomenei of violent repercussions to protesters is seen as particularly poignant to those commenting on events as they happen in Iran.
