brutally killing his wife in front of hundreds of party-goers.
The bloody stabbing happened in the Convention Center in Adelaide, Australia’s fifth largest city with a population of 1.3 million, which the Persian Cultural Association had rented for a party the evening of the first day of the new year.
Prosecutors said the 55-year-old husband was a community religious leader and his wife was a 44-year-old mother of three-two children in their 20s and a 12-year-old.
A local magistrate ordered that their names and photos not be published. But an Australian website identified the accused husband as Ziadollah Abrahim-zadeh.
Police said the couple had apparently separated last year and the wife had taken out a restraining order against her husband, suggesting she feared violence by him.
Police Chief Inspector John Gerlach told The Advertiser that the couple had come to the party separately and got into an argument with “many people” milling about. He said a family argument broke out and the husband stabbed his wife-repeatedly-at about 11:15 p.m. Security guards at the center subdued the husband and summoned police and an ambulance. The wife died later at a hospital.
Prosecutors told the judge they had strong fears the murder might lead to retribution within the family. They also opposed bail for the husband, saying he could pose a threat to witnesses, of which there were many.
The gruesome murder was a horrifying exception to the normally festive celebration of the Now Ruz holiday. But there were other problems as well.
In Tehran, dozens of people using fireworks were injured, some quite seriously, when the explosives blew up in their hands. The Fars news agency distributed many photos from a Tehran hospital showing ghastly injuries as doctors tended them.
Outside Evin prison, families of many of the protesters still held inside gathered to mark the New Year with candles and photos of their imprisoned loved ones. According to Mir-Hossain Musavi’s Facebook page, the police tried to intimidate the families into leaving, but they stayed nonetheless.
The family of Neda Agha-Soltan, shot dead near the June 20 protest, allowed their memorial at her gravesite to be videotaped and posted on the YouTube. The video shows Neda’s mother wailing, “How do I celebrate the new year without you, dear Neda?”
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenehi and President Ahmadi-nejad delivered televised Now Ruz greetings to the nation. Both spoke at length of the greatness of Iran and both blamed foreigners for sparkling the unrest of recent months. Khamenehi called it a “fiendish plot.”
Khamenehi lauded the public for turning out in large numbers to show their support for the government on Ashura, December 27, and on the anniversary of the revolution, February 11. He said the public turnout those days had whipped the enemy.
As has been his tradition, Khamenehi provided a slogan for the coming year. In the year 1389, Khamenehi said, Iranians should “Multiply your aspirations; multiply your work.” It was in keeping with a common theme in Khamenehi’s speeches urging the public to work harder.
Around the world, others offered their greetings. President Obama presented videotaped greetings. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered a statement, noting that the holiday “is an opportunity to remember how much we have in common,” as opposed to emphasizing differences, as Khamenehi did.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband added his best wishes, as did UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The U.S. Senate and House passed Now Ruz resolutions and Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts issued his personal message for the holiday.
Around the world, not only Iranian expatriates but also many others marked the holiday. The Republic of Georgia named Now Ruz as a holiday, becoming the 11th country to officially recognize Now Ruz. Those 11 countries have a combined population of about 300 million.
On Chahar Shambeh Souri March 16, many beaches in the Los Angeles area were bright with bonfires set by Iranian-Americans. The beaches tend to be used because the strict Los Angeles fire code leaves few other areas available for open fires. Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott said three people who didn’t quite clear the flames were hospitalized, though none of the injuries were ruled serious.
Shahad Saba, who works for a music website that sponsored the biggest event at Dockweiler State Beach, estimated that 6,000 revelers turned out there.
A dozen miles inland, the community in Pasadena organized a party for Chahar Shambeh Souri-but skipped the bonfires. Nazee Rofagha said Pasadena was too close to the mountainside charred in last summer’s major blaze. Rofagha told the Los Angeles Times, “We don’t do fire in Pasadena.”
A few thousand miles up the Pacific Coast, the Iranian community of Vancouver, British Colombia, held a bazaar March 13 and a big hotel party March 21.
In the middle of the continent, the Chicago community held its first Now Ruz parade from Federal Plaza to State Plaza and back last Saturday. And this Sunday, the New York community has scheduled its seventh annual Manhattan parade. The march will kick off at noon from 41st Street and sway down Madison Avenue to 23rd Street with more than 40 floats, bands and dancing groups anticipated.
Of course, the heart of Now Ruz is in the family home with the kids gathered around. In Iranian homes worldwide, families gathered around the table last Saturday to await the precise second at which spring began. At that moment, Persian tradition says, the bull who carries the world on one of his horns tosses it deftly to the other horn, an action taken so delicately that it can only be detected by an egg resting on a mirror that will move ever so slightly when the bull shifts horns.
And this year, just on time, millions of children watched in awe as the egg in front of them rocked just a bit on the mirror, although the children never noticed dad’s knee lifting under the table.
Happy New Year. Eid-e Now Ruz mubarak.
