Thursday, February 16, 2012

Iran

Iran Frees High-Profile Dissident

Ganji (right) with his wife in Tehran on March 18 (Fars)

March 18, 2006 -- Iranian dissident journalist Akbar Ganji has been released after spending six years in prison.

TEXT SIZE - +

March 18, 2006

Masoumeh Shafei, Ganji's wife, told reporters today that the release came as a surprise.

"He was released last night," Shafei said. "I did not know when he would be released. I was surprised about it, I am really happy."

However, Tehran's deputy prosecutor-general for prison affairs, Mahmud Salarkia, said Ganji was on leave, as his prison term will end only on March 30. It was not immediately clear whether Ganji would therefore have to return to prison for a few days.

Ganji has been imprisoned since 2000 after writing a series of articles linking senior officials to the murder of political prisoners.

He was considered the Islamic republic's highest-profile political prisoner.

(AP, AFP, Reuters)

What The Street Thinks

A demonstration in support of Iran's nuclear program outside the Isfahan uranium-conversion facility in Isfahan in January (epa)

IRANIANS SPEAK OUT ON THE DISPUTE: To find out more about what Iranians think about the international controversy over their country's nuclear program, RADIO FARDA asked listeners to express their views....(more)

THE COMPLETE PICTURE: RFE/RL's complete coverage of controversy surrounding Iran's nuclear program.

CHRONOLOGY

An annotated timeline of Iran's nuclear program.

India -- Investigators work at the site where a vehicle exploded near the Israeli embassy in New Delhi, 13Feb2012

Alleged Attacks Tehran's Way Of Lashing Out?

(INTRO) Israel has blamed Iran for two bombings targeting its diplomats in India and Georgia this week, as well as for a botched bombing in Bangkok that Thai intelligence officials said were aimed at top Israeli diplomats. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran's "terrorist activities" have been exposed, but Iran has denied any involvement. RFE/RL correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari spoke to Juan Zarate, senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and former Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism about the attacks and Iran's alleged role. More

Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad (center) looks on as scientists unveil a fuel rod at the Tehran Research Reactor.

Iranian Nuke Still One-To-Three Years Away, Says Expert

Iran on announced on February 15 that it has installed its first domestically produced nuclear fuel rods in a reactor in Tehran. Tehran also announced that it activated a new generation of centrifuges at its Natanz nuclear facility. RFE/RL spoke with nuclear physicist Frank Barnaby about what the advances reveal regarding Iran's uranium enrichment abilities, which Western countries allege are aimed at secretly building a nuclear weapon. More

Iran has stepped up its pressure on activists using the Internet

Iranian Activists, Journalists Receive Threatening E-mails

A number of Iranian activists and journalists based inside and outside the country have told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda they have been threatened in anonymous e-mails. More