Watchdog

Police in the Azerbaijani exclave of Naxcivan have committed 72-year-old Ismayil Huseynov to a psychiatric hospital for protesting police actions against his son, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports.

Huseynov had been missing since January 5 when he was taken with his wife, Khanimzar, to the Internal Affairs Ministry for interrogation.

The chief doctor of the hospital told RFE/RL that Huseynov has not been diagnosed.

A source in the hospital says Huseynov is sleeping all day after being given injections. His family has not been allowed to see him.

The family's problems began when their son, Elvin, and some other teenagers were detained and charged with turning off the lights of Christmas trees in the Sadarak district of Naxcivan on December 26.

Police released the teenagers the same day after allegedly beating them and shaving their heads.

Student activists at Tehran's Shiraz University are calling for the release of four of their colleagues who were detained on January 3.

One activist, who requested anonymity, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that the students will begin a hunger strike on January 10 in protest.

The four students were suspended from school for two semesters before being jailed. They were detained after they took part in events celebrating National Student Day last month.

After those events, some 35 students were summoned to the university's disciplinary committee and charged with "causing chaos" and disseminating antistate propaganda.

Shiraz University students recently staged several protests to push for the release of their friends.

In recent months, rights groups have expressed concern over the increasing pressure on students activists in Iran.