Neda, Iranian Woman Shot Video Seen Around the World

Obama Condemns Iranian Violence, Then Goes Out for Ice Cream

Mark Whittington
A copy of a video, apparently of a young Iranian woman named Neda, dying of a gunshot wound inflicted by Iranian security forces is circulating on the Internet, both of the mainstream and new media. It has become a rallying cry both inside and outside of Iran.

Warning. The Video is very graphic.

According to a report in the New York Times, covering the escalating violence in the streets of Iranian cities:

"A young woman who was standing aside with her father watching the protests was shot by a basij member hiding on the rooftop of a civilian house. He had clear shot at the girl and could not miss her. However, he aimed straight her heart. I am a doctor, so I rushed to try to save her. But the impact of the gunshot was so fierce that the bullet had blasted inside the victim's chest, and she died in less than 2 minutes. The protests were going on about 1 kilometers away in the main street and some of the protesting crowd were running from tear gass used among them, towards Salehi St. The film is shot by my friend who was standing beside me. Please let the world know."

Because of the intense restrictions on information imposed by the Iranian regime, the Times was not able to confirm when or where the video was short or whether the narrative was accurate. But according to the LA Times, the image of the Iranian woman named Neda, apparently shot by security forces, is also appearing on posters at anti Iranian government demonstrations. Neda is already being declared as a martyr of what appears to have become an revolution.

The image of Neda, an Iranian woman apparently shot by security forces, illustrates the high tech aspect of the Iranian peoples' struggle against their own government. While the Iranian government has cut off the more conventional means of communications, tech savvy Iranians are still able to get out news and images, such as the horrific murder of the Iranian woman named Neda, through twitter, facebook, YouTube, and other Internet technology.

As a result, anti government violence seems to be spreading throughout Iran, as protestors are attacked by tear gas, water cannon, baton wielding police, and gunfire from official militia, responding with rocks and bare hands. Threats issued by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei seem to have hardly dampened the courage of the protestors. The image of the death of the Iranian woman named Neda is just one of the horrific images circulating around cyberspace of Iranian protestors being shot and beaten by security forces. Ed Morrissey at Hot Air is also providing continuous coverage, with images and reports from media outlets large and small.

President Barack Obama remains somewhat slow on the uptake as events spiral out of control in Iran. The White House issued a statement that went, in part, "The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost. We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people. The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights."

Then to underscore the seriousness with which he regarded his warning to the Iranian government, President Obama reportedly went out for ice cream.

Sources: They killed Neda, but not her voice, Michelle Malki, Michelle Malkin.Com, June 21st, 2009

Saturday: Updates on Iran's Disputed Election, Robert Mackey, New York Times, June 20th, 2009

IRAN: Footage of woman apparently shot in Tehran galvanizes opposition, Alexandra Zavis and Amber Smith, LA Times, June 20th, 2009

Chaos in Iran, Ed Morrissey, Hot Air, June 20th, 2009

Published by Mark Whittington

Mark R. Whittington is a writer residing in Houston, Texas. He is the author of The Last Moonwalker, Children of Apollo, Dark Sanction, and Nocturne. He has written numerous articles, some for the Washington...   View profile

11 Comments

Post a Comment
  • Sabrin 10/6/2009

    then when they came to the US with their riches and settled here and made themselves an even more affluent living, they became completely materialistic and erased their identities of anything related to their Iranian heritage. They even colored their hair, changed their names, and viewed others in America as less then them because they felt richer with their material possessions and americanized by their assimilated lifestyles and behaviors so they thought no-one could be better than them. They still view others that way. They are very proud and they are prejudice against others except their own kind, they even didn't approve of the people in Iran, saying they were too religious, and even more so...they have nothing in-common with the people of Iran in Iran because they are not nor wanted to be in the first place. The Iranians in Iran probably don't even respect the Iranian people here for the kind of people they are or have become. The American Iranians abandoned their country 30 year

  • Sabrin 10/6/2009

    I was horrified and mortified, so saddened by the video of Neda who passed so terribly with helplessness and for the sake of freedom and human rights in her country...she was so innocent and a true Irani, but the Iranian people here in the US might has well crucified her long time ago by completely abandoning their people and their country once they left Iran to come to America 30 years ago!. They are protesting now for what, after all these years, when did they ever care about their people and country, they didn't even want people to know that they were Iranian so they call themselves Persians. They never ever attempted to help their people in Iran before. They never wanted to return to Iran. They were ashamed and embarrassed to be known as Iranian. The affluent people left Iran far behind to have a better life in the US after the Shah rescinded to the Ayatollah Khomeini in 1978 or '79 because they didn't want to live in Iran anymore under the islamic revolution of Khomeini but then w

  • FROM IRAN 6/28/2009

    DOWN WITH KHAMENEI & AHMADINEJAD LEADERS OF IR IRAN.

  • alice 6/26/2009

    vThe Kent State shootings, also known as the May 4 massacre or Kent State massacre,[2][3][4] occurred at Kent State University in the city of Kent, Ohio, and involved the shooting of unarmed college students by members of the Ohio National Guard on Monday, May 4, 1970. The guardsmen fired 67 rounds over a period of 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others, one of whom suffered permanent paralysis.[5]

    Some of the students who were shot had been protesting against the American invasion of Cambodia, which President Richard Nixon announced in a television address on April 30. However, other students who were shot had merely been walking nearby or observing the protest from a distance.[6][7]

    There was a significant national response to the shootings: hundreds of universities, colleges, and high schools closed throughout the United States due to a student strike of eight million students, and the event further divided the country, at this already socially contentious

  • Ali r now 6/23/2009

    To me you are not in vain

  • Rebel 6/23/2009

    what a waste, what a waste...my heart is broken to see this extremely disturbing video...hope the revolution is successful in bringing democracy...certainly the Shi'ite regime skewers Islam that totally goes against all teachings that support peace and democracy...My support for the Iranian people who just want freedom...

  • Maria 6/23/2009

    Nade you die but no in vain ,god rest your soul I am praying for you and my heart goes to your family,I sob when I saw the video is horrendous,I have 2 daughters and I pray they will be always safe.you die alone without you rfamily not even a doctor around you to help you.God bless you Neda.

  • Deb 6/23/2009

    What an absolute horror.....what is wrong with this world? Heartbreaking. God help us.

  • Beppe Gandola Canada 6/23/2009

    Watched the video, my heart ache for her family. such a young life lost to politics & religion ,what a waste!
    RIP Neda

  • Lily 6/22/2009

    The man who was said to be her father was later identified as her music teacher. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neda_(Iranian_protester) My heart goes out to her family. RIP!

Displaying Comments
Next »

To comment, please sign in to your Yahoo! account, or sign up for a new account.