University of Iowa student sees Iranian election unfold
Michael Dale-Stein
Issue date: 6/23/09 Section: News
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Inside the vehicle, one Iranian-American University of Iowa student was directly confronted with the reverberations of the June 12 Iranian presidential election. The government declared incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner, which almost immediately sparked cries of outrage and large protests.
But it didn't start this way. The UI student, who has dual citizenship, was visiting his family and was excited to vote in his first Iranian election.
Now that the election is over and accusations of voter fraud have surfaced, danger and violence have concurrently risen. Though Iran has put efforts into blocking social networking Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter, many are still using the Internet to express their feelings to the world.
The Iranian government announced June 17 that those who talk to foreign media and post information on blogs and Web sites will be severely punished.
And an acquaintance of the student was reported to be missing on Thursday - proving the risks for Iranian citizens are greater than first thought.
"[The government] arrested many people today - mainly journalists, activists, and people who have been talking on the 'Net," the student wrote to the DI in an e-mail.
He asked the DI for anonymity because of possible dangers associated with talking to U.S. journalists - adding he has been utilizing proxy servers, methods of keeping his computer messages anonymous. The student has tried calling family and friends in the United States more than 30 times Thursday, but none of the calls went through.
Since the election, the government has filtered Web sites and blocked text messaging, and it is rumored to be monitoring landlines, sparking intense reaction from abroad. Protests have occurred in California, Georgia, and even Iowa City - an event that collected 102 signatures Wednesday.
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