Cleric Detained On Unspecified Charges
Cleric Mohammad Taghi Khalaji, a close ally of late dissident Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, was arrested at his home in the city of Qom, his son tells Radio Farda. His son, Mehdi Khalaji, adds that four Intelligence Ministry agents ransacked his father’s home for an hour, “searching even the kitchen cabinets.”
“My father voted for Mir Hossein Mousavi and supported the Green Movement, yet was not a member of any political organization,” he says.
Mehdi Khalaji, who lives in the United States, says that his parents and his daughter were supposed to visit him in the U.S., but the Intelligence Ministry agents also confiscated their passports, plane tickets and visa application forms, and told them that they were not allowed to leave Iran.
Human Rights Lawyer Prosecuted
Lawyer Mohammad Olyaeifard, who represents a number of people arrested during Iran’s post-election turmoil, tells Radio Farda that he has been prosecuted:
“The first case was filed against me when I informed the court that my clients were tortured in jail and asked for its investigation... After my objection to the death sentences issued for minors, Tehran’s prosecutor has also filed another complaint against me.” Olyaeifard is currently free on bail.