Last week, a number of journalists and activists arrested in the postelection crackdown were freed, including the former chancellor of Tehran University, Mohammad Maleki, and prominent journalist, Mashallah Shamsolvaezin.
The releases spawned a modicum of relief among opposition members and rights activists.
But new arrests are being reported in Iran over the past 48 hours. They include award-winning film director
Jafar Panahi; women's rights activist Mahboubeh Karami; human rights activist Navid Khanjani; blogger Behzad Mehrani; and Hessam Firouzi, a physician who treated several political prisoners.