Bert can remember when he first saw the video on YouTube. Bert was shocked, and he was angry. So Bert painted the only known image of Neda Soltan.
Dimensions: 20x28cm
Painted: 2009
Materials: Acrylic on MDF board
Private collection
The story behind Neda Soltan
This is Neda Soltan, the young woman who was murdered in the streets of Tehran during large scale protests at the corrupt election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. She was killed in cold blood by Abbas Kargar Javid, a pro-government militiaman.
Neda Soltan died on the 20th of June 2009. Within hours a video of her death went viral. It can be seen on YouTube here. Bert saw the video, like millions of others, and he then burst into tears. He was horrified that such a senseless death could have happened in the name of defending a corrupt and tyrannical government. The Iranian government had manipulated the votes, and the election was widely seen by many in the western world as rigged. Even worse was the fact that Neda Soltan wasn’t even in the street to protest. She was merely a bystander.
Since Neda’s death, the Iranian government has continued to obfuscate and peddle lies that the CIA killed her. They have also desecrated her grave.
Neda should have won the 2009 Nobel peace prize, not Barack Obama – even he acknowledged it in his acceptance speech.
Source image of realism painting Neda Soltan
