Iranian news websites are reporting (h/t Persian Letters) that a documentary will be released this week by Iran’s Intelligence Ministry which will provide “new evidence” about the death of Neda Agha-Soltan–most likely suggesting she was an agent of the U.S. and staged her own death.
Neda (of whom we have written about here, here and here) was shot to death by Iran’s Basij military police in the streets of Tehran while attending a peaceful protest following Iran’s contested presidential elections in June of 2009. Despite Iran shutting down social networking sites and banning any press coverage of the protests, the horrifying video of her death made it out of the country and soon went viral. Since then, Neda has become a symbol of the student protest movement.
According to the Iranian government report. the fact that Neda’s death was filmed from two different angles, among other points, is used to indicate that her murder was “staged.” Another documentary, produced earlier this year and shown on Iranian State television, 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.