Witness to murder: Iranian doctor who tried to save Neda speaks
posted at 4:30 pm on June 25, 2009 by Allahpundit
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Don’t be daunted by the length. Rarely have 19 minutes passed so quickly, although if you’re pressed for time, the first eight or so are the way to go. At six minutes in, he drops a bombshell I haven’t seen reported anywhere else: The crowd actually caught the Basij bastard who shot her — he insisted he didn’t shoot to kill — and took his ID card and photos of him before reluctantly letting him go. I can only assume they didn’t drag him into an alley and beat his head in for fear of reprisals if they were spotted, but evidently someone somewhere in Iran has the goods on the guy who murdered her. Not that it particularly matters. The thousands upon thousands of accomplices he had are equally guilty.
There are going to be more Nedas soon: After days of silence that some thought signaled the end of the uprising, Mousavi threw down the gauntlet to Khamenei and Ahmadinejad this morning, declaring “I am not prepared to give up under the pressure of threats or personal interest” and warning the regime of a “violent atmosphere” swirling in the ranks of his supporters if the crackdowns continued. If you’re the praying sort, now’s the time.
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I just posted this on another topic. I think it’s relevant.
shick on June 25, 2009 at 4:38 PM
I wouldn’t doubt it – it’s noit at all uncommon for people to get caught up in the swirl of furor and do things they never intended to do.
SlimyBill on June 25, 2009 at 4:40 PM
obama wants to have negotiations with these killers? start the impeachment
marktarheel on June 25, 2009 at 4:41 PM
I have an Iranian colleague who told me that the Basij (aka thugs with guns and clubs) are typically working for about $50/month and have a 2nd-grade education. They are offered $800/month (more than college-grad school teachers) and are taught to fire their weapon and swing a club. This is why there is no shortage of the guys “restoring order.”
perroviejo on June 25, 2009 at 4:43 PM
This is the kind of accidental escalation that starts wars. (Presuming the guy didn’t actually want to kill the woman, just scare her and the other protesters.)
You should now reconsider the actions, and discipline of US Navy personnel in the Straits of Hormuz when faced with provocation from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. (Or the Chinese navy, or the Russians during the cold war.)
And you should respect the restraint of the protesters for not beating the guy to a bloody spot on the road.
Skandia Recluse on June 25, 2009 at 4:44 PM
Iranians being killed ? Time for a Michelle Obama Hula dance !
William Amos on June 25, 2009 at 4:45 PM
My colleague also said that it’s very common for a family to be charged $2500.00 for the bullets they used to kill your son or daughter in Iran.
perroviejo on June 25, 2009 at 4:46 PM
He’ll just pretend the people killed had survived botched abortions. Then their lives won’t matter. What’s the difference between wheeling them into a closet to die or shooting them? Either way it’s murder and bho couldn’t be bothered to care.
What is not being reported here is that bho is simply indifferent to the suffering of others. He’s the coldest president of my lifetime. At least Clinton had a pulse.
Mojave Mark on June 25, 2009 at 4:47 PM
The current Iranian leadership has one big-ass revolution on their hands. These protestors have every reason to be pissed off and those reasons aren’t going to go away when the public has to look at them, listen to them, and be subject to them every day.
Geronimo on June 25, 2009 at 4:47 PM
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” – Thomas Jefferson
If the Iranians want free of this yoke – they are going to have to fight for it.
Armando on June 25, 2009 at 4:48 PM
An accidental shooting of a fixed target below the neck, in the front of the chest. Can’t buy it.
fourdeucer on June 25, 2009 at 4:52 PM
Kobayashi Maru.
The no-win situation.
The only way for these people to take back their country is through bloodshed.
Sad.
juanito on June 25, 2009 at 4:52 PM
Obama is eyeing the Basij as a model for his civil defense force.
Disturb the Universe on June 25, 2009 at 4:52 PM
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
TMK on June 25, 2009 at 4:59 PM
a brave man
ookete on June 25, 2009 at 5:00 PM
I cannot really explain why this particular death has affected me so deeply. I cannot get that picture of her out of my mind, especially that piercing stare into the camera.
When I listen to this doctor and his beautiful English, it does give me hope about the future of the Iranian people and our relationship with them….provided that the current insane generation passes away.
johnboy on June 25, 2009 at 5:04 PM
Whoa…similar to those who voted for Ogabe here in the U.S.
I’m surprised that suicide bombers haven’t yet made their presence felt; one guy running into a mob of Basiji and exploding would seem like a tempting thing to do.
Bishop on June 25, 2009 at 5:04 PM
Now watch the media go “Joe the Plumber” all over this guy………
……… He makes Obama look like the incompetent coward that he truly is.
Seven Percent Solution on June 25, 2009 at 5:09 PM
Truly a mesmerizing, riveting interview. I was struck by the decency and honor of the man being interviewed. He represents the best in humanity.
Star20 on June 25, 2009 at 5:12 PM
Just heartbreaking…Bastards.
TheBigOldDog on June 25, 2009 at 5:15 PM
Yes. I bet they are pounding on his 70-year-old Father’s door as we speak.
TheBigOldDog on June 25, 2009 at 5:16 PM
Dude…I wish I thought that was a laughable statement. I truly do. But, I don’t. And I’m not some irrational, mindless conspiracy nut either. I just see too many bad vectors with this guy.
TheBigOldDog on June 25, 2009 at 5:18 PM
He (the Basij) didn’t say shooting her was accidental. He said killing her was accidental.
TheBigOldDog on June 25, 2009 at 5:19 PM
Hot dogs anyone? The story of Neda should be in every American history textbook, the price of freedom.
Captain America on June 25, 2009 at 5:22 PM
So you know that Arne, Rahm, and the Chicago machine have instituted a number of military charter-like schools in Chicago, don’t you? Is this the model for their training? Do they get trained in 2nd grade too?
PrincipledPilgrim on June 25, 2009 at 5:22 PM
Bad move, I wouldn’t be facing them down with only a fistful of rocks, nor would my friends.
Bishop on June 25, 2009 at 5:24 PM
He (the Basij) didn’t say shooting her was accidental. He said killing her was accidental.
TheBigOldDog on June 25, 2009 at 5:19 PM
Yeah, a center mass accidental killing.
fourdeucer on June 25, 2009 at 5:25 PM
Isn’t is amazing, considering how difficult it is (we are told) to get information out of Iran that not only the video of Neda’s death got out, but the LA Times got an interview with the fiancee and now we have an interview with the doctor that was on scene?
Blarg the Destroyer on June 25, 2009 at 5:25 PM
William Amos on June 25, 2009 at 4:45 PM
No mas!!!!
milwife88 on June 25, 2009 at 5:25 PM
Did the shooter throw down his weapon and try to assist Neda? No he did not. He ran and then he himself was ran down, caught, his ID card removed but did they disarm him? If what the shooter of Neda claim the “he meant not to shoot to kill”, why did he run?
Americannodash on June 25, 2009 at 5:30 PM
*claim that
.
44kbs slow feed. Sorry did not see video.
Americannodash on June 25, 2009 at 5:31 PM
+1
barnone on June 25, 2009 at 5:38 PM
Amen. In the second half of the interview, he gives an inspirational explanation of why he has chosen to jeopardize his life by testifying to Neda’s death.
ultraloser on June 25, 2009 at 5:41 PM
heartwrenching. what a good man.
chaucer55 on June 25, 2009 at 5:43 PM
If not shooting to kill, shooting at people for what?
d1carter on June 25, 2009 at 5:44 PM
Brave Man
Please pray for the people of Iran
It is just a matter of time we will see scenes like these here ….
defendfaithandfamily on June 25, 2009 at 5:45 PM
This level of thinking infuriates me. If you have a weapon with live rounds in it, and you fire it into a crowd, what do you think that the odds are that it will kill someone? If the intent is NOT to kill but scare, as the bastard claimed, then why not shoot the gun in the air?
The Basiji are the equivalent to the Nazi SA (brownshirts) in every way. These thugs are trained street enforcers, armed with weapons and who’s orders are clear: intimidate and threaten the populace. They are not held accountable for any actions as a result since they are a direct tool of the dictatorship to keep people in check through the use of fear!
LeperKhan on June 25, 2009 at 5:49 PM
Watch and learn kids. This may be coming to streets near you soon.
PappaMac on June 25, 2009 at 5:55 PM
Yes, and everything is in English, one might think it was potent propaganda that sets hearts a twitter and forms judgment on hot emotion. How coincidental.
BL@KBIRD on June 25, 2009 at 6:08 PM
My apologies in advance to TheBigOldDog – after reading up more carefully, it wasn’t my intention to insinuate that his post was what infuriated me, but rather the killer’s rationale that was pointed out.
My point is much more illustrated by this quote:
“do things they never intended to do.”? To re-emphasize my earlier point: That is exactly what they are trained and paid to do!
LeperKhan on June 25, 2009 at 6:14 PM
Jesus, people! Do any of you ever read? Do you know about Hitler’s Volksturm?(People’s Storm) Same deal. Unfit to serve but able to cause death and mayhem without interference. Kids and old men! And don’t tell me this dickhead didn’t mean to do it. She was shot dead center through her sternum – not an accidental shot from my view. I saw the video – they were trying to stop the bleeding but guess what? Blood from the nose and mouth are signals that it ain’t going to pencil out. Take from a combat soldier, Viet Nam style. That asshole shot her on purposely! Nerves? Don’t know. Doesn’t make any difference, does it? By the way, the Basij work for pay – more than they could ever make! Google it!
LarryG on June 25, 2009 at 7:09 PM
One site from which I receive daily updates posted a photo of “jack-booted thugs with clubs at a voting location”. He then noted that it wasn’t Tehran this week, it was Philadelphia last November..
oldleprechaun on June 25, 2009 at 7:11 PM
What a gut-wrenching video. 19 minutes really didn’t seem long enough. Unfortunately, most of the population has an attention span of about 5 minutes. Of course, not paying attention is what got us this weak bastard in the WH who apparently has no intention of lifting a finger to help these people.
XWing5 on June 25, 2009 at 7:15 PM
There is no English in the video showing Neda’s murder. Why does it surprise you that there are Iranians who speak English? Why in particular does it surprise you that an Iranian doctor living in England speaks English?
ProfessorMiao on June 25, 2009 at 7:18 PM
See my post from 7:11, PM this evening.
Oh, and a big THANK YOU to all you Zombies, trolls, and lurking lefties who elected B. Hussein Obama. As I’ve written before, you Zombies, et al, should familiarize yourselves with the way Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria and Ernst Julius Röhm met their respective deaths. That’s the way politicians such as B. Hussein deal with supporters who no longer have utility.
oldleprechaun on June 25, 2009 at 7:26 PM
I didn’t hear that the shooting of Neda was an accident. The quote the doctor gives is “I didn’t want to kill her,” not “I didn’t mean to kill her.”
JSchuler on June 25, 2009 at 7:33 PM
A very compelling video; I pray for this doctors safety.
LibertarianRepublican on June 25, 2009 at 7:39 PM
God bless Neda.
This dude Mousavi needs to stop fomenting violence. The dude clearly lost in a landslide. Mousavi is receiving third party support from other nations, all in a clandestine manner. That’s why he is bold. The election was not even close.
True_King on June 25, 2009 at 7:41 PM
I think you might be reading to much into the difference between ‘want’ and ‘mean’ given that the doctor is not a native speaker of English and while his English is very good, he doesn’t have a native speaker’s facility.
But I thought his important points on that issue were that the guy didn’t say that he didn’t kill her, and that given that she’d been shot a quite close range in the chest he wasn’t very credible about lack of intent.
ProfessorMiao on June 25, 2009 at 7:43 PM
He says “Some people believe they actually took someone” and then tells of the incident of the captured suspect and he is describing the details like he was an eyewitness. The reporter asks him if he saw this stuff and he said he did.
That’s when I turned it off.
Buddahpundit on June 25, 2009 at 7:52 PM
Don’t you know that BL@CKBIRD is a professional zealot? He can’t help it. Any chance to spew his favored anti-Muslim spew, he’ll take. Must hate Islam or something.
Grow Fins on June 25, 2009 at 7:59 PM
Sad. This has 50 comments and the Jacko post has 800. WTF? How in the world can we ever expect to get things straightened out?
TheBigOldDog on June 25, 2009 at 8:04 PM
And you seem to be a professional pain in the a$$. Don’t you have anything better to do with your time and start trouble here? Go find something productive to do and make a positive contribution to something.
TheBigOldDog on June 25, 2009 at 8:06 PM
ProfessorMiao on June 25, 2009 at 7:18 PM
I don’t specifically mean the birth of Neda the Martyr, I mean the entire “protest”, the signs saying “where is my vote? ” only printed in English. I don’t know, I find it impossible and foolish to take anything from Islam at face value and have faith in it. It has never been a good idea for non Muslims to trust Muslims for over 1400 years. Why should it be different now?
All war is deception said Muhammed and these people are not asking to be free of Islam.
BL@KBIRD on June 25, 2009 at 8:10 PM
A little bit OT:
Has there been anything posted about the picture of Neda that shows her wearing what appears to be a cross and chain around her neck?
IrishEi on June 25, 2009 at 8:19 PM
Grow Fins
Of course I hate Islam and if you were not a tard you might educate yourself on Islam and discover why. What makes you defend Islam when you know nothing about it? Is it because in your heart they are just a poor little deprived people that you will endlessly give the benefit of the doubt to? You in your tardness sound absolutely free of any knowledge of Islam, have you looked at it at all? Like all tards of the left you only think with your heart and what seems fair without the least knowledge of the back story or the history of the situation.
So your slinging the empty insult of ‘bigot’ just affirms to me your absolute ignorance of the topic at hand. Scan the Qur’an, learn something instead of reacting to how events make you ‘feel’.
BL@KBIRD on June 25, 2009 at 8:26 PM
OK, I misunderstood you.
I am not so suspicious for a couple of reasons. I don’t find it inconceivable that many of these young dissidents (mistakenly) thought that the west would care that they were challenging the religious tyranny in Iran. That’s why so many of them took great risks to video events and get them out to the world. Not always in English, either. Yesterday I saw a clip where a young woman confronts the riot police who were beating her until she starting videoing them. This generation is far more modern than the one that ushered in the Islamic Republic 30 years ago; that was apparent last year when the ‘religious police’ were accosting young men and women for ‘unIslamic’ dress and hairstyles. And much else has changed about the world in the intervening 30 years. They are connected to the rest of the world via the internet and many of them want an end to the conditions that have led Iran to become a pariah state.
All that said, I doubt that they mean the same thing we do when we talk about freedom, and I have no idea at all whether they would support the continuation of the nuclear program, the exportation of terror including ongoing meddling in Iraq, and the threats to annihilate Israel.
But I have no doubt about their sincerity in wanting change of some kind. Iran’s economy is in the toilet and tanking faster, and many of them see no future for themselves under the current regime.
ProfessorMiao on June 25, 2009 at 8:26 PM
There was a link going around twitter earlier this week, showing a Basij that was allegedly the one who shot her. I assumed he was a (forgivable) patsy for the real killer, because how could they know? Interesting to hear this now.
Tanya on June 25, 2009 at 8:43 PM
He is a brave man — if there are enough like him and Neda in Iran, that country might not be a hopeless case.
cruadin on June 25, 2009 at 8:44 PM
I haven’t heard anything (and didn’t notice the necklace, tho I’d seen the picture) but Jesus is considered a prophet in Islam. Don’t know if that extends to wearing a crucifix or not…
Tanya on June 25, 2009 at 8:47 PM
Bl@ckbird,
Apparently, Grow Fins has bought into that whole “peaceful religion” crap about Islam. He’s more concerned with all of those Baptists and Catholics that are blowing innocent people up, all over the world.
Star20 on June 25, 2009 at 8:52 PM
Yes, yesterday. It looks like the perp aimed for that cross. As i mentioned on the 24th, I don’t think this killing was political.
OldEnglish on June 25, 2009 at 9:26 PM
That’s the first thing I thought too. Of course, it could be some other type of charm, but it certainly does look like a cross–even on magnification.
It might explain some of the hubbub surrounding her funeral and burial too. (Not that her being considered a martyr for the cause isn’t enough for the regime putting the kabosh on all the publicity.)
IrishEi on June 25, 2009 at 9:50 PM
Also, there is practically NOTHING on the internet about any of this. That’s strange. Where are all the looney conspiracy theorists who jump to outrageous conclusions on all matter of things with far less evidence? Isn’t anyone even curious? What gives?
IrishEi on June 25, 2009 at 9:54 PM
One of the greatest interviews of all time.
Editor on June 25, 2009 at 9:55 PM
One of the greatest interviews of all time.
Editor on June 25, 2009 at 9:55 PM
Yes, I can agree with that wholeheartedly. and with whoever above said heartbreaking. It is.
Until the past year, I would never have believed I would see the current petty thuggery and sinister tyranny that is taking place and threatening my country. Seeing what is happening in America today makes the overseas chaos more believable. We don’t have all that far to go before the curtain falls here.
redneck hippie on June 25, 2009 at 10:23 PM
I’m sad that Iran is already old news and that people are wasting their attention on dead pop culture icons and another silly sex scandal.
It’s too bad that some of the Iranians were hoping America would care. I see one of the Michael Jackson threads is over 1000 comments and this one is less than 100. Which one matters?
deewhybee on June 25, 2009 at 10:58 PM
Agreed
Jeff from WI on June 25, 2009 at 11:14 PM
While I understand where you are coming from, the fact remains that we do not know if the doctor’s translation is NOT accurate. It is foolish to jump to a conclusion (Neda’s death was an accident) on the presumption, absent of any additional evidence, that a witness misspoke.
JSchuler on June 25, 2009 at 11:27 PM
Wouldn’t this be an extraordinary opportunity for Michelle Obama to make a strong and feminist statement about the obvious human rights of women. I doubt she even is aware of it.
YankeeinCA on June 26, 2009 at 12:18 AM
This is not about Mousavi, Out of hundreds of candidates only a few was approved to be able to run. Mousavi wasn’t even Neda’s choice. Mousavi is only a connector to the real issue of free and open elections. All the real reformist non-qualified candidates have been arrested and many already have been hanged. This is the peoples revolution not Mousavi. It was never a free election.
Ed Laskie on June 26, 2009 at 12:23 AM
I hope this all ends with the end of the theocracy. I would love to see the fall of any theocracy but especially Islam. I suspect that Saudi Arabia and other countries in the area have a different perspective. If the revolution succeeds I don’t think Mousavi will be the big cheese. They probably don’t like him any better.
I was over at Atlas and there is a report of thugs that don’t speak Farsi, only Arabic. That indicated that they are importing people to quell the protesters.
I hope they know how to make molotov cocktails.
deewhybee on June 26, 2009 at 12:47 AM
Affirm, and the case that was brought and all but won against those thugs, and their parent organization, “The New Black Panther Party” was dropped by B.Hussein’s Attorney General aka Eric “Nation of Cowards” Holder. The NBPP Basji in the US have now been empowered to become more proactive in the next election cycle. Con-joined with the Acorn Community Organizers, the new and uninspected AmeriCorps, Labor Unions, and other Democrat thug groups, and the scenes from Iran don’t seem so faraway…
http://www.foxnews.com/search-results/m/22394430/off-the-hook.htm
“Let’s Roll”
On Watch on June 26, 2009 at 1:04 AM
Thanks AP.
Excellent, Brave guy for doing that interview. He’s toast if he tries to return to Iran.
Texyank on June 26, 2009 at 1:08 AM
Iran is not forgotten by us, here in America.
We’re all shell-shocked from the deaths in Iran.
The picture of the youg man, dead on that slab, where an obvious axe wound, gouged out, deep into his heart. The voice of the young Iranian girl describing the massacre.
America is only taking a needed break this evening with this diversion.
Neda still lives in our hearts and our prayers for the people in Iran. We all quietly grieve, for who is still being killed, tortured and the soon to be executed.
This interview was so compelling. Excellent job and a brave doctor.
luvstotango on June 26, 2009 at 1:49 AM
Thanks AP, BBC, and all who tried to save the life of Neda.
Remember, his remarks that even he fears for his life because he tried to save Neda and the Government has his picture.
A government that won’t even allow its people to pay proper respect to the dead, and our President thinks talking nice will bring peace to the World.
This is delusion and nothing good can come from delusional thinking.
MSGTAS on June 26, 2009 at 10:54 AM
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