Murdered and Martyred and Show Trials - Part 2

In an update to my post yesterday, Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has accused the brutal Islamic dictatorship government of "medieval torture"to force protesters to confess to the litany of crimes that the regime is alleging. The whole situation seems like a flash back to the show trials in the old Soviet Union when Stalin purged those who were in the way of his personal ambition and/or opposed what he was doing to the country. One can only hope such nasty and brutal tactics will only harden the resolve of those seeking democracy in Iran. Those in the USA who fail to heed the insanity of domestic theocrats and the Christian Taliban should take note of how the Islamic equivalents of these people operate. Religious fanaticism combined with a lust for power (e.g., folks like James Dobson, Richard Land at the SBC and Pat Robertson) are a dangerous mix. Here are some updates from the BBC News:

*

Defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi says opposition detainees put on trial have been subjected to "medieval torture". He denounced the trials, which started on Saturday, as fraudulent and said the prisoners had been forced to confess.

*
Earlier ex-President Mohammad Khatami criticised the hearings as "show trials" that would damage confidence in Iran's Islamic establishment. More than 100 people have been put on trial on charges including conspiracy. . . . Mr Khatami, in comments on his website, expressed hope that Saturday's trial would not "lead to ignorance of the real crimes", the Associated Press reports.

*
The AFP news agency quotes Mr Khatami, who was president from 1997 to 2005, as making more outspoken criticism of the trial. "What was done yesterday is against the constitution, regular laws and rights of the citizens," his office quoted him as saying.

*

Mr Mousavi's comments went even further, accusing the authorities of forcing the detainees to confess to the crimes. "The teeth of the torturers and confession-extorters have reached to the bones of the people," he said. "Witnessing such trumped-up trials, the only judgment that the conscience of humanity can make is the moral collapse and discredit of its directors."
*

Mohsen Rezai, the only conservative to have challenged Mr Ahmadinejad in the election, also criticised the trial, saying people who had attacked the protesters should also be put on trial.