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More than 1,000 protesters including journalists and bloggers were detained following Iran’s disputed June 12th presidential election. Many detainees have since described horrific conditions, beatings and forced confessions designed to support government allegations that post-election protests are being supported by foreign powers in hopes of overthrowing Iran’s government. As has become the tradition, state controlled media have aired many of these confessions on television. President Ahmadinejad on Tuesday claimed, “The election was completely clean and healthy …it has doubled the dignity of the Iranian nation.” However, government control has not stopped the flow of information in and out of Iran to the rest of the world. Social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter have become vehicles of communication from the front lines. This was not the case just 10 years ago during the July 9, 1999 (known in the Iranian Lunar calendar as 18 Tir) attacks on the University of Tehran dormitories which resulted in the killing and imprisonment of many students. There are unauthorized demonstrations planned to mark that anniversary today in Iran, which the government has vowed to crush. Protestors have been advised to carry roses as weapons to keep the violence to a minimum. Here in LA, a demonstration organized by the Iranian Students Group will also take place this Sunday, July 12th at the Westwood Federal Building from 11:00 am-1:00 pm.

GUESTS: Mitra, a college professor, and Hussein, a political activist, organizers of this weekend’s demonstration