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Mother of Murdered Iranian Protester

'We Will Continue to Fight'

Tehran reform supporter Parvin Fahimi, 52, talks about the killing of her son Sohrab Aarabi, says she doesn't believe the government's claim that it will investigate the violence against demonstrators and dismisses the trials being held against protesters as a mockery to justice.

SPIEGEL: Last Thursday, many again answered the call of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi to join a mourning march. Was it comforting for you that so many people took to the streets?

Fahimi: It shows me how great the sympathy is and that Sohrab didn't die in vain for his ideals.

SPIEGEL: Protesters were attacked again.

Fahimi: There were a large number of security forces at the cemetery, including plain clothes officers, in order to intimidate us. Only this time they weren't as brutal as before. The regime is aware that the world is paying close attention to its actions. But there were still many arrests. We will continue to fight.

SPIEGEL: The occasion for the protest march was the 40th day after the death of protester Neda Agha Soltan. Will there be further actions of this type?

Fahimi: This is a very important form of protest. Prior to the protest, our former President Mohammed Khatami visited me and -- as Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi had done -- also assured me that the deaths of the young people would be atoned for. On the 40th day marking the death of Sohrab, we will also mourn publicly.

SPIEGEL: Do you believe the government's claims that it will investigate the assaults?

Fahimi: I cannot take them seriously. The government has had enough time to make an effort to clarify the events, but nothing has happened.

SPIEGEL: Can the trials against the arrested protesters aid in clearing up what happened?

Fahimi: At these political trials at the Revolutionary Court, people are being branded "insurgents." To say that this will serve justice is a mockery.