Hip. happening Tehran, minus the torture

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      The Iranian-government-owned Press TV is routinely lambasted for anti-Semitism and for giving a platform to Holocaust deniers.

      But its English-language programming tries to present a more benign image of the Islamic republic.

      Safora Nowrouzi's report, which you can see above, makes Tehran appear like like any other hip, cosmopolitan city.

      It's a far cry from the portrait of Iran in the critically acclaimed movie Circumstance, starring Coquitlam's Nikohl Boosheri. It demonstrated the extent to which Islamic authorities go to disrupt young people having fun.

      Some Iranian expats living here may wish that Nowrouzi had presented a more fulsome picture by dropping by Evin Prison, where prisoners have reportedly been raped and beaten.

      One of those tortured in the prison, Vancouver resident Yadi Sharifirad, survived and wrote a book about his experience called The Flight of the Patriot.

      “I can’t explain how painful it is,” Sharifirad told the Straight in 2010. “You can’t even count the number of floggings that you feel.”

      Comments

      1 Comments

      Cultural Learnings

      Jan 30, 2013 at 11:49pm

      My god, this just screams out for an SNL send -up. "Persian Juice (Jews?!)". 'Butcher House?!' 'I'm about to explode?!' LMAO!

      One of my women pals, from Tehran, is so sad about the problems women still face (hope ya'll noticed the lack of females throughout that video). Religious police can still sidle up to you and tell you are showing too much ankle. Most people have house parties where they wear Western garb--and keep curtains still tightly drawn so neighbours won't rat them out to police.

      The bravest find a little hootch to smuggle in, to releive the boredom of a place that is suffering high unemployment---not exactly a swingin' place. Though it does look like food trucks would do really well there. ;-)

      (Yadi, by the way is the coolest guy at Stongs!!).