If Neda Agha Soltan were alive, she would have turned 27 on January 23, 2010.
Neda was shot and killed about seven months ago during a peaceful protest in
Tehran against the reelection of Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. The
amateur video of her last moments has been watched by millions of people around
the world on YouTube and social networking websites.
Neda Agha Soltan
Vigils and other events are planned today in a
number of cities around the world to honor her memory and protest against the
bloody crackdown against peaceful protesters in Iran.
Iranian news websites are reporting that members of Neda's family and others
gathered today at her grave in Tehran's Behesht Zahra cemetery to pay their
respects to the young woman who has become a symbol of Iran's Green opposition
movement. Some blogs are reporting that four young people
were detained
by security forces at Neda's grave. The reports have not been independently
confirmed.
Neda's tombstone
after a recent vandalization
An amateur video shows a young man -- apparently
in the Iranian city of Ahwaz -- releasing
27 green balloons to celebrate Neda's birthday and honor the slain young woman,
who is described in the video as "the voice of freedom of the Iranian people." (Neda
means "voice" in Persian.)
Iranian officials have claimed that Neda's death
was a plot by the enemies of the Islamic Republic to discredit the clerical
establishment. Iranian state television recently produced a documentary that
claims Neda was a foreign agent who plotted her own death.
Copyright (c) 2010 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
