With the situation in Iran changing in a matter of seconds it’s hard for the press to confirm stories coming to the surface.  Keeping that in mind the Guardian couldn’t verify that this is truly the case, but if it is… we are talking about truly adding insult to injury.

Iranian officials have kicked Neda Agha Soltan’s family out of their home in Tehran.  Yes, I kid you not. Officials kicked them out after the pictures of Neda showed the world what was really going on in the country and Neda became the symbol of the potential revolution.

How worried were the police about drawing attention to the situation – so much so they forbid the family to display any signs of mourning.  No funeral.  No black banner.  No ceremony of any type.

Amid scenes of grief in the Soltan household with her father and mother screaming, neighbours not only from their building but from others in the area streamed out to protest at her death. But the police moved in quickly to quell any public displays of grief. They arrived as soon as they found out that a friend of Soltan had come to the family flat.

In accordance with Persian tradition, the family had put up a mourning announcement and attached a black banner to the building.

But the police took them down, refusing to allow the family to show any signs of mourning. The next day they were ordered to move out. Since then, neighbours have received suspicious calls warning them not to discuss her death with anyone and not to make any protest.

All I know is this… This is the proverbial powder keg. The stories I hear coming out of Iran are more and more aggressive, more disturbing. From the lethal force utilized on protesters to the treatment of the families of the dead, this is all really starting to build to a breaking point. Either something major happens in the direction of the protesters very soon or the government crushes their will and the events are never spoken about again in public.  I just fear the government will crush – no erase – the protesters from the pages of history.

Related posts:

1. The face for the Iranian revolution – Neda Soltan
2. Dr. Arash Hejazi, the man who tried to help Neda, flees Iran
3. American Hypocrisy: Use Twitter to coordinate protests, but just not in the United States
4. Thinking about the first family event again…
5. FedEx, you're a class act – FedEx flies terminally ill girl home