Iran: Low Lights from the Show Trial

I could only wince looking at this screen shot from the Iranian show trial.

It’s not just the sideways glance and the wary, haggard look of former V.P. Ali Abtahi (3rd right) who, it’s pretty clear, was forced to renounce the reformers. It’s also a.) the 1-to-1 pairing of the pajamas with their minders, b.) the look of the defendants lined up three rows behind him, the guy one behind resourcefully stealing a look at the camera to say, “this stinks,” c.) the fact the minder far left seems to be either curious about his charge, or about where Ali Abtahi is looking, and d.) the fact Ali Abtahi holds his statement on the minder’s side.

(image: Hossein Salehi Ara/Fars News Agency/AP photo. Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009)