Iran Bans Dissidents From Making U.S. Trip

Hashem Aghajari (right) (file photo) (AFP) February 4, 2007 -- Dissident Hashem Aghajari has said the Iranian authorities have prevented him from leaving the country for a lecture trip to the United States.

ISNA news agency quotes Aghajari as saying he was stopped from boarding the plane today.

Abdullah Momeni, a student activist accompanying Aghajari, was also banned from leaving.

Aghajari rose to prominence when he was sentenced to death for blasphemy after saying in 2002 that Muslims should not "blindly follow" religious leaders. He was cleared of the charge in 2005.

(AFP)