Killed During Iran Election Protests: A Tribute to Neda
In loving memory of Neda….
I know it’s horrible, but I felt it was necessary to include the video of Neda’s death right here on the page. We need to remember, and we need the world to remember that lies, cheating, dishonesty and travesties of justice can never lead to good in this world.
This post is intended as a Tribute to Neda: hopefully we will be able to exert enough influence that her death will not have been in vain. If you knew her, please tell us more about her in the comments below.
The last thing you think of when you’re 18 is dying, especially when you’re in a familiar place and with your family. The world is at your feet when you’re that age: so much to look forward to, and so much to do.
For one young woman in Iran this week, all hopes of a life of fulfillment were cut short by the cruelty and lust for power that has been uncovered by the latest election there, said to have been hijacked by the ruling party.
In addition to closing down news sites and arresting reporters, Ahmadinajad’s ruling party is taking an increasingly hard line against the opposition who accuse him of rigging the election on a huge scale.
On June 20, Basij (Iranian paramilitary organization) shot to death a young woman in Tehran’s protests. It transpires that the girl’s name was Neda Agha Soltan, and she was doing nothing–no demonstrating–she was no threat. But she lost her life all the same.
Here is the initial message from a doctor who tried to help Neda at the scene:
[Time:] 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.
Two Twitter accounts have been set up to keep Nida’s memory alive: nedasoltan and nedaaghasoltan.