For Neda A new HBO documentary

[Valin]

Weekly Standard Blog:

A new HBO documentary debuts a year after the June 12 Iranian elections.
Emily Esfahani Smith
6/12/10

Nearly a year ago, the final seconds of Neda Agha Soltan’s life flashed across computer screens worldwide. Peacefully protesting the controversial Iranian presidential elections of last year, 26-year old Neda was shot in the heart by a member of the para-governmental Basij militia. Her dying moments were captured on video by cell phones, and then circulated worldwide via YouTube and other websites.

Neda, whose name means “divine voice” in Iranian, has become a symbol of rebellion in Iran—but who was this girl? Very little is known about her. But now, For Neda, a moving new HBO documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Antony Thomas, reveals the details of Neda’s personal fight for freedom. Her story, universal in so many ways, will resonate deeply with ordinary Iranians, especially the estimated three million who protested the presidential election with her in Tehran one year ago.

Copies of For Neda are already going viral in Iran—and Voice of America, the U.S.-sponsored radio broadcasting service, plans to air a Farsi-translation of the documentary in Iran today, June 12, the anniversary of the election, and June 20, the anniversary of Neda’s death. When Iranians tune in, they will hear Neda’s remarkable story from her immediate family members, who still live in Iran and risked their lives to come forward and be interviewed......(Snip)

Iran marks poll anniversary

(Snip)
But Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi - Ahmadinejad's principal electoral rivals - have scrapped plans to hold fresh protests to mark the occasion on Saturday.

Authorities had vowed to crack down on any renewed protests with Morteza Tamadoon, the governor of the capital, Tehran, saying that "any illegal move to disrupt public order and trouble people will not be tolerated and will be dealt with".

Troops used deadly forceto quell the street protests that erupted after the results last year - a poll which the opposition said had been rigged....(Snip)