The turbulent aftermath of the Iranian elections continues to dominate the headlines, and whatever the truth about the contested official election result, it’s clear that Ahmadinejad has succeeded in alienating whole swathes of the Iranian population – and that the government crackdown on protesters and free speech in the media is reaching alarming new heights. As protests surge on the streets, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s address at Friday prayers in Tehran offered nothing in the way of a solution or even an acknowledgement of the real extent of unrest in the country.
Incidentally, a member of my team has been contacted by a blogger in Tehran who says that Iranian secret police are rounding up people blogging about events using blog/Twitter accounts with the location of "Tehran" or "Iran" and time set to +3.30 GMT. In solidarity with those seeking free speech in the dialogue over the future of Iran, he is calling on other bloggers around the world to change their own account settings to these. The hope is that the secret police will be overwhelmed, and free blogging and Twittering can continue in Iran - in order that the truth about what is happening can still reach the outside world.
