Man: Woman killed in Iran protests wanted freedom
Neda Agha Soltan
In the video  Neda Agha Soltan is lying on the ground as blood flows from her mouth and nose and onlookers scream. Her last moments spread around the world on Youtube  Facebook  blogs and Twitter  turning her into an icon in the clash between Iran's cleric-led government and protesters.
 "She only ever said that she wanted one thing  she wanted democracy and freedom for the people of Iran " Caspian Makan told an Associated Press reporter during a telephone call from Tehran.
 But Makan did provide photographs of himself with a woman he identified as Soltan and also had her as a friend on his Facebook page and said he had intended to marry her. "I still feel her  I still talk to her " he said.
 Makan said that they had argued in the days before her death about her decision to attend the protests  which were part of the self-described "green wave" movement that claims hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stole his June 12 re-election.
 He said he had asked her not to go out for fear she would be arrested or shot. "I tried to dissuade her from going out in the streets because I'd seen in my work as a journalist that  unfortunately  there are a lot of merciless behaviors " Makan said.
 "But she said that our attendance would be worthwhile even if a bullet hits my heart " he said. "Unfortunately  that is how she died  a bullet hit her heart and her lung  and maybe 5 or 6 minutes later  she died."
 Internet accounts say that Soltan's father was at her side during her death. But Makan said a white-haired man who is seen pressing on her chest in the video and repeatedly saying "don't be afraid  Neda dear  don't be afraid" was actually her music teacher.
 chest in the video and repeatedly saying "don't be afraid  Neda dear  don't be afraid" was actually her music teacher.
 She'd grown dissatisfied with her theology studies and had taken up music  as a pianist  he said.
 They first met on a vacation in Izmir  Turkey  a town on the Mediterranean  on a vacation tour from Iran. He described Soltan as a plain-spoken woman who loved poetry -- Iran's Rumi and America's Robert Frost were her favorites.
In the video  [TGT] is lying on the ground as blood flows from [TGT] mouth and nose and onlookers scream. [TGT] last moments spread around the world on Youtube  Facebook  blogs and Twitter  turning [TGT] into an icon in the clash between Iran's cleric-led government and protesters.
 "[TGT] only ever said that [TGT] wanted one thing  [TGT] wanted democracy and freedom for the people of Iran " Caspian Makan told an Associated Press reporter during a telephone call from Tehran.
 But Makan did provide photographs of himself with a woman he identified as [TGT] and also had her as a friend on his Facebook page and said he had intended to marry her. "I still feel her  I still talk to her " he said.
 Makan said that they had argued in the days before her death about her decision to attend the protests  which were part of the self-described "green wave" movement that claims hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stole his June 12 re-election.
 He said he had asked her not to go out for fear she would be arrested or shot. "I tried to dissuade her from going out in the streets because I'd seen in my work as a journalist that  unfortunately  there are a lot of merciless behaviors " Makan said.
 "But she said that our attendance would be worthwhile even if a bullet hits my heart " he said. "Unfortunately  that is how she died  a bullet hit her heart and her lung  and maybe 5 or 6 minutes later  she died."
 Internet accounts say that [TGT] was at her side during her death. But Makan said a white-haired man who is seen pressing on her chest in the video and repeatedly saying "don't be afraid  Neda dear  don't be afraid" was actually her music teacher.
 chest in the video and repeatedly saying "don't be afraid  Neda dear  don't be afraid" was actually her music teacher.
 She'd grown dissatisfied with her theology studies and had taken up music  as a pianist  he said.
 They first met on a vacation in Izmir  Turkey  a town on the Mediterranean  on a vacation tour from Iran. He described [TGT] as a plain-spoken woman who loved poetry -- Iran's Rumi and America's Robert Frost were her favorites.