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Iran activists arrested following election protests

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Political activists and politicians in Iran have been arrested following protests of the country's controversial presidential election, human rights groups said Wednesday. According to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI), former foreign minister and current leader of the Freedom Movement of Iran Ebrahim Yazdi was arrested Wednesday in a Tehran hospital. ICHRI also reported the arrests of economist Saeed Laylaz, youth activist Mohammadreza Jalaieepour, Freedom Movement political director Mohammad Tavasoli, and other officials and activists. Amnesty International (AI) reported that 17 political activists were arrested and taken to "unspecified locations" after staging a peaceful protest in a public square in the city of Tabriz. A spokesman for ICHRI addressed the increased repression, saying: Iranian intelligence and security forces are using the public protests to engage in what appears to be a major purge of reform-oriented individuals whose situations in detention could be life-threatening. The authorities are responsible for the health and safety of these people and should be held accountable.Calling for Iranian authorities to respect and nurture debate, AI stressed Thursday that "healthy debate on issues of fundamental importance to people's lives" informs, rather than threatens, policy makers.On Tuesday, Iran's Guardian Council of the Constitution said that it would conduct a partial recount of the disputed election results after the country's spiritual leader and highest authority Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered an investigation on Monday into allegations of voter fraud. Khamenei's order came after protests took place throughout the country following last weekend's announcement of a victory by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. Ahmadinejad, who has been president of Iran since 2005, has been a controversial figure. In April, delegates to the UN Durban Review Conference on Racism walked out of a speech by Ahmadinejad after he described Israel as "totally racist." Last June, a division of the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance revoked the license of Iranian daily newspaper Tehran Emrouz for printing articles that criticized the policies of Ahmadinejad. Allegations of fraud also surrounded Ahmadinejad's 2005 election victory.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on June 18, 2009 (boomark / email).