Translation: Medieval trial of Iran's Reformist politicians

This was published half an hour ago here:

A Country In Shock, A People In Fury

This morning, when it was publicized that a few of those arrested in street unrest will go on trial, suddenly a few political and press figures appeared on screens: Behzad Nabavi, Mohsen Mir-Damadi, Mohamad-Ali Abtahi, Mohsen Aminzadeh, Abdollah Ramezan-Zadeh, Mohammad Atrianfar, Mohsen Safayee Farahani (deputy minister of economy in Khatami era), ...

According to "Mowj-e Sabz-e Azadi", this trial was held amidst the exchange of critical statements between higher authorities of Iran's judiciary.

The parliament was not informed of this trial. Even the accused were not aware of this; their families and lawyers were unaware, although they were not even given a chance to seek counsel regarding their charges. This is a rare display that can only find parallel in the forgotten medieval times, and after the June Coup d'etat of 2009. (22 Khorda, 1388). [I have to add something similar to this happened in 1987; which led to the rift between Khomeini and Montazri, as the latter protested the diversions from both Islamic and the constitutional law when hundreds of leftist political prisoners were executed without trial]

What is interesting is that just a few minutes after the beginning of the trial, Fars news agency published the prosecutor's statement, that is filled with tens of irrelevant, unreasonable and vague charges, filled with bizarre words without any legal content such as Bar-Andazi (toppling), "velvet revolution", "soft revolution", in order to illustrate "who has plotted against the national security and 'beloved' children of the people [i.e. Ahmadinejad!] and dear politicians"!

It doesn't need a very sharp mind to easily detect the stark similarity between the literature style of this text to Keyhan's editorials; the charges being the same that have been laid for years by the likes of Shariatmadari and Shayanfar; and now reiterated (thanks to their ascend to power) by [the infamous] Ghazi Mortazavi.

What is funny is that aside from the confessions made under pressure of torture, many of the things published as confessions are the statements that these individuals openly made prior to election in their political analyses, but that they were taken out of context by the likes of Keyhan, and assembled in a half-coherent way by Fars, to make them sound like "important" confessions!

What is even funnier is that they don't even oblige themselves to keep the similitude of a semi-legal process in this stages court episode! And that is why they don't even see it necessary to try Abtahi in the special Cleric's Court; or have the lawyers read the charges; or to have a jury given the political nature of the charges; or many other things ...

Now one has to ask, since the barrage of charges have been broadcast on public TV, would they permit an open defense without torture and intimidation of the defendants? Would they allow them state what kind of pressure they have endured in the prison, and what methods are used to extract such confessions?

See how awful things have turned that even Hojatoleslam Do'a-Goo, a staunch opponent of reformists during Khatami Era is now decrying: "Those who are faithful to religious establishment, Imam's path and the constitution are being charged with treason"

Are those who are staging this fake court assuming that the people will remain silent when they take their best to the gallows? Or do they think that people are so impotent to sit and let the shameless prosecutor accuse their rightful green wave of seeking freedom of foreign dependency?!

BBC report

Statement of Jebhe-Mosharekat-e Melli (National Participation Front)