Former Presidential Candidates Under Pressure
September 8 -- Security forces raided the office of former presidential candidate Mehdi Karubi, who recently publicized accounts of rape in Iranian prisons. "On the one hand, they want to intimidate Mehdi Karubi into stopping his work," Karrubi's son told Radio Farda. "On the other hand, they want to intimidate the tortured post-vote detainees into not talking to Karrubi, yet he is standing firm," he said. [read in Farsi] Authorities have also arrested Alireza Beheshti, the head of a committee investigating the abuse of post-election detainees. According to a Tehran-based journalist, the authorities want to prevent an independent source from gathering information about the arrests that could prove damaging to the Iranian regime. [read in Farsi / read in English]
Student Crackdown Intensifies
September 4 -- Approximately 50 Tehran University students were summoned by the Iranian Intelligence Ministry for interrogations regarding their participation in post-election protests. "The coup d'etat government knows that universities will become the centers of resistance when they reopen in a few weeks, so it wants to prevent the movement," a journalist said. [listen in Farsi]
Jailed Activist Transferred in Chains
September 7 -- The founder of Kurdistan's Human Rights Organization, Mohammad Sadigh Kaboudvand, was chained by prison officials recently for refusing to pay a large sum of money in order to be transferred from one city to another for his trial, according to Kaboudvand's daughter. Kaboudvand has served 28 months of his 11-year sentence. [read in Farsi]
Beyond Nukes
September 6 -- The world needs to negotiate with Iran on a number of issues, not just its nuclear arms program, Iranian director and civil activist Mohsen Makhmalbaf told Radio Farda. "World peace is tied to creating democracy in Iran," he said. [read in Farsi]