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Dozens of Iranian Students Arrested After Protests
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian security forces have rounded up dozens of students in recent days in a move which reformist MPs said would exacerbate tension in the wake of a spate of recent pro-democracy protests.
Reformist newspapers on Saturday said the arrests were carried out by officials wearing plainclothes and the whereabouts of many of the detained students was unknown.
Analysts said the round-up may be aimed at intimidating students to deter them from staging mass rallies to commemorate the violent attack on a Tehran University dormitory by hardline Islamic vigilantes on July 9, 1999.
Students have been at the center of recent demonstrations against clerical rule which started in Tehran and spread to other cities. The protests lasted for 10 consecutive nights but there were no reports of major gatherings on Friday night.
The protests have been lauded as a cry for freedom by Washington, which also accuses Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Iran denies any ambition to build atomic arms and has accused U.S. officials of blatant interference in its internal affairs.
The liberal Yas-e No newspaper said 32 students from Tehran University alone were detained in the past few days. While some were held by the Intelligence Ministry, the whereabouts of others was unknown, the paper said.
"Such methods might have some influence for a short period of time and in some limited cases," the paper said in an editorial.
"But...the history of the student movement in the country has shown that the policy of threat and crackdown has failed to restore calm to the universities and on the contrary has led to exacerbating the atmosphere of unrest and tension."
Reformist MP Ahmad Shirzad sent a letter to Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi complaining that his son had been arrested in front of his home by a group of plainclothes officials who said they were affiliated to the judiciary.
"Mr Shahroudi...there is no justification for this illegal behavior and you should be accountable for why some people have been arrested without having committed any crime," he said in the letter, extracts of which were published by Yas-e No.
Another five MPs wrote to President Mohammad Khatami (news - web sites), asking him to intervene over the "arrest of students who have not been involved in the tensions."
But the hardline Johmyuri-ye Eslami newspaper, reflecting official allegations that the recent protests were being stirred up by Washington, said authorities must confront the ringleaders.
"Officials are responsible for (dealing with) those students who are collaborating with the enemy and fomenting tensions which are contrary to the nation's interests," it said in an editorial.
On Friday a senior Iranian cleric said the "hooligans" arrested in recent protests should be charged with "waging war on God" -- a crime which carries the death penalty.
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian security forces have rounded up dozens of students in recent days in a move which reformist MPs said would exacerbate tension in the wake of a spate of recent pro-democracy protests.
Reformist newspapers on Saturday said the arrests were carried out by officials wearing plainclothes and the whereabouts of many of the detained students was unknown.
Analysts said the round-up may be aimed at intimidating students to deter them from staging mass rallies to commemorate the violent attack on a Tehran University dormitory by hardline Islamic vigilantes on July 9, 1999.
Students have been at the center of recent demonstrations against clerical rule which started in Tehran and spread to other cities. The protests lasted for 10 consecutive nights but there were no reports of major gatherings on Friday night.
The protests have been lauded as a cry for freedom by Washington, which also accuses Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Iran denies any ambition to build atomic arms and has accused U.S. officials of blatant interference in its internal affairs.
The liberal Yas-e No newspaper said 32 students from Tehran University alone were detained in the past few days. While some were held by the Intelligence Ministry, the whereabouts of others was unknown, the paper said.
"Such methods might have some influence for a short period of time and in some limited cases," the paper said in an editorial.
"But...the history of the student movement in the country has shown that the policy of threat and crackdown has failed to restore calm to the universities and on the contrary has led to exacerbating the atmosphere of unrest and tension."
Reformist MP Ahmad Shirzad sent a letter to Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi complaining that his son had been arrested in front of his home by a group of plainclothes officials who said they were affiliated to the judiciary.
"Mr Shahroudi...there is no justification for this illegal behavior and you should be accountable for why some people have been arrested without having committed any crime," he said in the letter, extracts of which were published by Yas-e No.
Another five MPs wrote to President Mohammad Khatami (news - web sites), asking him to intervene over the "arrest of students who have not been involved in the tensions."
But the hardline Johmyuri-ye Eslami newspaper, reflecting official allegations that the recent protests were being stirred up by Washington, said authorities must confront the ringleaders.
"Officials are responsible for (dealing with) those students who are collaborating with the enemy and fomenting tensions which are contrary to the nation's interests," it said in an editorial.
On Friday a senior Iranian cleric said the "hooligans" arrested in recent protests should be charged with "waging war on God" -- a crime which carries the death penalty.
