Debating Iran's Reform Era
May 24 -- Was the eight year reform era during Mohammad Khatami's presidency fruitful or a time of missed opportunity? To answer that question, Radio Farda's weekly roundtable, "Viewpoints," brought together dissident cleric Ahmad Ghabel, political analyst Mohammad-Sadegh Javadihesar, and California State University professor Kazem Alamdari. [read in Persian]
Political Prisoner's Life in Danger
May 23 -- Human Rights Watch is calling on the Iranian government to immediately release political prisoner Behrooz Javid-Tehrani and provide him with access to adequate medical care. The group says Javid-Tehrani is now on a 3-week-old hunger strike and in the "doghouse" section of the infamous Gohar Dasht prison in the city of Karaj, north of Tehran. His hands and feet are cuffed. [read in English or Persian]
Charges Filed Against Student Activist
May 27 -- A jailed student activist and her brother have been charged with "enmity against God" and "spreading propaganda against the regime" for being involved in student activities at a university. Shabnam Madadzadeh was arrested in February, and when her brother went to visit her in prison, he, too, was detained. [listen to an interview with their lawyer in Persian]
Labor Union Leader Beaten in Jail
May 26 -- The wife of noted labor leader Jafar Azimzadeh told Radio Farda that he was taken to section 209 of Tehran's infamous Evin prison where he was beaten during a 90 minute interrogation. [listen in Persian]
Iran Cracks Down on Head of Committee for Free and Fair Elections
May 26 -- Mohammad Seifzadeh, a lawyer and head of the Iranian Committee For Free and Fair Elections, has been ordered to report to court. He told Radio Farda that the court summons must be related to his campaign on behalf of election rights: "The authorities want to push it to the point where no civil movements can be active in Iran." [listen in Persian]