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| Axis of Evil |
| Iranian student arrests confirmed |
| 2002-11-26 |
| Student leaders in Tehran have been arrested following demonstrations against the death sentence for apostasy passed this month on a liberal university lecturer, Hashem Aghajari. At least six student activists were detained by plainclothes police on the orders of a revolutionary court. Initially, it was unclear who had detained the student leaders, or why. Eyewitnesses said one of them, Abdullah Mo'meni, was simply grabbed in the street and bundled into a civilian car by men in plain clothes who sprayed his companion in the face with teargas. Classic snatch job. Later it was confirmed that the arrests had been carried out on the orders of a branch of the Revolutionary Court, and that they were in connection with the student protests over the Aghajari death sentence. The deputy Interior Minister, Ibrahimi Rezaibabadi, said that more arrests were expected, beyond the six already confirmed at that time. The arrests have caused anger and dismay in student and reformist circles, raising fears of further unrest just as things were apparently starting to quieten down. The student movement had already been severely weakened by the arrest and jailing of some of its key leaders, but was showing signs of being stirred into action by the Aghajari case. This place is a powder keg. It needs the right spark to set it off, and the government is just dumb enough to provide one. |
| Posted by:Steve |