Iran – IRN36407 – Overseas protests – Sydney vigil – Post-election protests – Internet monitoring – Social networking websites – Returnees
15 April 2010
In February an Iranian-born student who now has Australian citizenship was summoned for interrogation by the state security bureau in Tehran, after returning to Iran to visit her sick mother. "Fariba", who asked that her real name not be used for fear of reprisals, was told by her Iranian interrogator that the Iranian government had photographs of her and colleagues taking part in pro-democracy protests in Brisbane.
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In a second case last month, an Iranian-born man who lives in Queensland was detained at Tehran's international airport after arriving from Brisbane, and interrogated about his political activities in Australia. He was shown photographs of himself at rallies in Brisbane and was given a list of names of Iranian pro-democracy activists in Queensland and asked to identify them.
Mehran Rafiei, convenor of the group Queensland Supporters of Democracy for Iran, says the man was told by his interrogator that his political activities in Australia warranted the death penalty. "They say (to him) `We are the government
23 Fassihi, F. 2009 ‘Iranian Crackdown Goes Global’ Wall Street Journal, 3 December http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125978649644673331.html - Accessed 26 March 2010 – Attachment 30.
24 Neighbour, S. 2010, “Iranian embassy in Canberra 'spying on activist students'” The Australian, 6 April http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/iranian-embassy-in-canberra-spying-on-activist-students/story-e6frg6nf-1225850112423 - Accessed 7 April 2010 – Attachment 31.
of God, we are the deputies of God. It is quite clear you are against God, so you should be executed'."25
A blog post by Evgeny Morozov on the American Foreign
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