Iran's Intelligence Ministry To Prove Neda’s Murder ‘Staged’

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Iranian news websites, including khabaronline, are reporting that Iran’s Intelligence Ministry is due to release a documentary in the next few days “to complete the removal of ambiguities surrounding the murder of Neda Agha Soltan” and provide “new evidence” about the West’s version of events.

Neda, a young Iranian who was shot dead during the June postelection protests in Tehran, has become a symbol of Iran’s opposition movement. The amateur video of her last moments was posted on YouTube and watched by millions of people.

The report says the fact that Agha-Soltan's death was filmed from two different angles, among other points, is used to indicate that her murder was “staged.”

It is not clear whether the documentary is the same as the one produced by Iranian State television earlier this year, which suggested that Neda was an agent of the United States and Britain who staged her own death and poured blood on her face from a bottle.

Neda’s death has become a very sensitive issue for Iranian officials who have tried to discredit her and the opposition movement.

The release of the documentary some three weeks before the anniversary of last year’s disputed presidential vote appears to be another attempt to neutralize the impact of her death and again place blame on foreign countries.

Witnesses have said that Agha-Soltan was shot by a member of the Basij force.

-- Golnaz Esfandiari