Iran arrests 500 activists in wake of election protestsProminent campaigners, journalists and students among those detained as part of crackdown on opposition 6/17/2009
Robert Tait guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 17 June 2009 15.30 BST Article history
At least 500 activists, opposition figures, journalists and students have been arrested in Iran in recent days in a growing crackdown aimed at "decapitating" the movement against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election.
The round-up has included individuals once closely associated with the 1979 Islamic revolution but who have been critical of Ahmadinejad's government.
Saeed Leylaz, a prominent journalist and commentator, today became the latest leading figure to be arrested, possibly because of his frequent interviews with foreign media.
Leylaz, a known reformist and supporter of the defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, warned last week that Iran faced a possible Tiananmen Square-type bloodbath if the election was stolen.
Also in custody was Oxford university PhD student Mohammadreza Jalaipour, the son of a Tehran University sociology lecturer and prominent reformist. He was arrested trying to board a flight to London this morning.
The detentions came as human rights groups voiced concern for the health of another activist, Saeed Hajarian, who was arrested yesterday.
Hajarian – a one-time adviser to the reformist former president, Mohammad Khatami – needs constant medical attention for brain and spinal injuries sustained in a failed assassination attempt nine years ago. He is said to be in constant pain and undergoes regular consultations with neurologists.
Two other prominent reformists, Mohammad Ali Abtahi and Behzad Nabavi, and a well-known human rights lawyer, Abdolfattah Soltani – who has defended many student activists – were also rounded up on Tuesday. Their detentions followed those of an estimated 120 activists and journalists who were arrested in Tehran last weekend, including Mohammad Reza Khatami – brother of the former president – who was later released.
The wave of detentions has spread beyond the capital to include provincial cities.
At least 100 civic figures are understood to have been arrested in Tabriz, a city historically renowned for political protest and where Mousavi has strong support.
Those targeted included at least seven leading members of the Iran Freedom Movement, one of the country's oldest political parties. The movement's leader, Ebrahim Yazdi, a former foreign minister and adviser to the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, was arrested today at Pars Hospital in Tehran, according to his party's website.
Eight members of the Tabriz branch of the Islamic participation front – a reformist organisation linked to Khatami – were also arrested.
Another four activists in Qazvin province, north of Tehran, were said by human rights campaigners to have "disappeared" while members of the Tahkim-e Vahdat, an influential students organisation supporting the other reformist candidate Mehdi Karroubi, have been "systematically targeted".
"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," said Aaron Rhodes, a spokesman for the international campaign for human rights in Iran.
The detention of prominent people has added to multiple arrests of students at Iran's universities. An estimated 200 were arrested after clashes at Tehran University at the weekend, although many were later released. More than 100 were taken into custody on Monday after security forces fired teargas at protesters at Shiraz University.
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According to ''Cyrus News Agency'' (CNA) in Iran, at least 16 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly attempting to join the "people's movement." Protests, riots and violence broke out in several cities in Iran on Saturday night following an election which many in Iran and the world say was fraudulent.

"These commanders have been in contact with members of the Iranian army to join the people's movement. Three of the commanders are veterans of Iran-Iraq war. They have been moved to an undisclosed location in East Tehran," said the ''Washington Times'' which quotes the CNA in Iran.

The protesters on Saturday were supporters of Mir-Hossein Mousavi, a candidate in the recent election. Mousavi accuses the Iranian government of "appalling" fraud after it reported that the nation's current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who had been expected to receive less than 50% of the vote and have to face Mousavi in a runoff election, received 62%.

Cyrus also reports that on Wednesday, the Iranian military arrested at least 500 other protesters, activists, students and journalists among one well-known Middle Eastern reporter Saeed Leylaz. They are accused of "decapitating" the Iranian government and the recent elections in which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected. According to ''guardian.co.uk'', many of those arrested were affiliated with the revolution in Iran in 1979.

On Tuesday, the Guardian Council of Iran has announced it is willing to recount contentious votes from Friday's presidential elections. The top legislative body said votes would be recounted in regions where other losing candidates contest the results, but the Council says they have no plans to annul the election.