May 11, 2003
Sina Will Be Freed!
Farnaz, Sina's wife posted this wonderful news on her blog:
"We went to court today and the judge gave us the news; Sina will be released tomorrow. Sina himself contacted us later in the day and confirmed the news".
Nothing has been posted as to what is in store next and if his charges are dropped or his release is a temporary measure.
Needless to say, this is certainly good news but hardly the end of this episode. Iranian ISP's are being forced to "filter" hundreds of sites and bloggers may never feel as safe. Let's not forget the larger goal of establishing freedom of expression for all Iranians after Sina is free.
To Sina; we are all glad you'll be with your family after over 3 weeks of unwarranted detention and hope your confinement was spent with minimal "discomfort". If you choose to change your methods and approach, both in writing as well as your position, it will be a sad loss but understandable. We are all pre-programmed for self-preservation and with a young family, your responsibilities are intensified. So, no matter what you say or do after being released, even if it is to condemn our actions on your behalf, we will all take it with some cynisism and disdain but pledge to say what you can't say and do what you will not be able to do on behalf of you, all other writers in Iranian prisons, as well as the larger community in fighting tyrany and dictatorship.
Posted by Pedram at May 11, 2003 07:39 PMThx Pedram for all your efforts while Sina was in detention, esp for making that petition. He's free now, but no one knows what has happened to him. I completely agree with what you mentioned in this post about the possible changes in his methods and approach. We should expect such reactions.
Posted by: Lady Sun at May 12, 2003 04:08 AMThese are great news! ;)
Posted by: Marco Valerio at May 12, 2003 05:13 AMPedram,
If every body cared about others as mush as you do, the world would be much better a place to live in.
Thanks for your efforts regarding Sina.
Pedram, my man, you rock!
I wish more iranians were as proactive as you are.
Keep the excellent work!
Ramin
Posted by: Ramin at May 12, 2003 05:47 PMThank you to everyone who posted these nice words or e-mailed me directly. (particularly one certain regular reader who tells me a certain Iranian official recieved over 100 e-mails on one single day regarding Sina as a result of the petition. don't ask how she/he knows). You all give me way more credit than I deserve. The real work hasn't even begun yet. Let's focus on much bigger goals.
Thanks again.
Posted by: Pedram M. at May 12, 2003 11:57 PMPedram
John Lenon once said, "All we need is love." but I believe in our case all we need is education. We need to be presented with ideas, thoughts and sociological challanges to better educate ourselves and hopefully next generation will pick up where we left off. I guess our parants did a lousy job on educating themselves.
Keep publishing the good stuff, lots of my non-iranian friends are fascinated by your web log and the liberal political views.
Best,
Ramin