Iran: Activists detained for planning a meeting

21 Dec 10 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost

Four activists from the youth branch of the reformist Islamic Participation Front have been detained after they were summoned to a resident court in Evin prison. According to opposition website Rahesabz, prison officials cited “plan[s] to hold certain meetings” as the reason of their arrest. The four detained members are Hadi Heidari, Fatemeh Arab-Sorkhi, Mohammad Shafiyi and Alireza Taheri.

Iran: Union activist denied bail despite hunger strike

14 Dec 10 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost

Labour activist, Reza Shahabi remains in custody despite the payment of bail USD 100,000 by his family. Shahabi, who was detained on 12 June, was due to be released on 11 October but two months on he has still not been Evin prison.  In protest to his circumstances, he began a dry hunger strike on 4 December. In an interview with the International campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Shahabi’s wife, Zohreh Rezaei, has expressed grave concern for his well being.

Iran: Workers at reformist newspaper detained

10 Dec 10 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost

Security authorities raided into the office of reformist newspaper Shargh on 7 December and detained journalists Keyvan Mehregan, Farzaneh Roostayi and Ahamad Gholami, along with chief editor Ali Khodabakhsh. According to reformist website Kaleme, the authorities also physically checked the staff’s mobile phones. The raid coincided with national student day which brought student protests across university campuses in the country.