Twitter On Trial

by Chris Bodenner

The LA Times reports that the transparently false confessions of protesters are backfiring on the Iranian regime:

Not only has the government failed to silence the opposition or quell protests, including  one that erupted outside the court building as the proceedings were underway Saturday, analysts said, but it appears to be seriously damaging the international credibility of the Iranian judiciary and political system. [...]

The West also allegedly provided "rioters" with Twitter, Facebook, Persian-language translation software and access to "advanced software" that enabled people to watch Internet videos despite low bandwidth, according to the indictment. But the awkward confessions by defendants, some held for weeks without access to counsel in solitary confinement wings of Iranian prisons, lacked specifics about such a plot.

Tehran Bureau's Muhammad Sahimi takes a closer look at the trials staged this weekend.