Neda Agha Soltani wanted freedom for everyone

Neda Agha-Soltan, who was shot dead by the Islamic regime of Iran’s security forces on Saturday 20 June, wanted freedom for everyone.

In interviews with the press, her fiancee, Caspian Makan, said ‘Neda was never supportive of either group [referring to the factions in the regime]. She wanted freedom; Freedom for everyone.’

Her murder has become a rallying point across the world.

He went on to say: “She was near the area, a few streets away, from where the main protests were taking place, near the Amir-Abad area. She was with her music teacher, sitting in a car and stuck in traffic.

“She was feeling very tired and very hot. She got out of the car for just a few minutes.

“That’s when she was shot dead. Eyewitnesses and video footage of the shooting clearly show that probably Basij paramilitaries in civilian clothing deliberately targeted her. Eyewitnesses said they clearly targeted her and she was shot in the chest.

“She passed away within a few minutes. People tried to take her to the nearest hospital, the Shariati hospital. But it was too late.”

Makan said Neda’s family struggled to persuade the Iranian authorities to release her body.

“She was taken to a morgue outside Tehran. The officials from the morgue asked if they could use parts of her corpse for body transplants for medical patients,” he said.

“They didn’t specify what exactly they intended to do. Her family agreed because they wanted to bury her as soon as possible.

“We buried her in the Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery in southern Tehran. They asked us to bury her in this section where it seemed the authorities had set aside spaces for graves for those killed during the clashes.”
The regime banned her family from holding a public funeral.

He continued: ‘She only ever said that she wanted one thing, she wanted freedom for the people of Iran.’

The white-haired man who is seen pressing on her chest in the video and repeatedly saying ‘don’t be afraid, Neda dear, don’t be afraid’ was actually her music teacher.

Neda

- http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neda_Agha-Soltan (Neda Agha-Soltan ou Neda Soltani (ندا آقا سلطان – Nedā Āġā-Sulṭān; née en 1982 – morte le 20 juin 2009) est une jeune femme iranienne tuée par balle au cours d’une des manifestations de protestation qui ont suivi l’élection présidentielle contestée iranienne de 2009. Un membre de la milice paramilitaire Bassidji est probablement à l’origine du tir mortel. Son agonie en pleine rue a été filmée par des personnes présentes autour d’elle dans la manifestation. La vidéo, encore non authentifiée, rapidement postée sur Internet a été largement diffusée sur les sites de vidéos en ligne et reprise par la plupart des réseaux sociaux d’Internet. Neda est dès lors devenue la figure emblématique des manifestants à travers le monde entier, donnant un visage et un nom aux victimes parmi les opposants au régime de Ali Khamenei et de Mahmoud Ahmadinejad…. En farsi, Nedā signifie « voix » ou « appel ». Pour cette raison, Neda Soltani a été surnommée la « Voix de l’Iran », ou l’ « Ange de l’Iran », son prénom devenant après son décès un cri de ralliement « au nom de la liberté ». « Neda Soltani représente à la fois l’engagement des femmes dans la révolte en cours, mais aussi toute la jeunesse d’un pays dont près des deux tiers des habitants ont moins de 30 ans ; elle symbolise, enfin, une révolution dont on est informé massivement par les réseaux sociaux et autres outils de partage utilisés par les Iraniens ».)

- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8119713.stm (.. Dr  said he knew he was putting himself in jeopardy by talking about what happened.”It was a tough decision to make to come out and talk about it but she died for a cause. She was fighting for basic rights… I don’t want her blood to have been shed in vain.”He added: “She died on the streets to say something…”)