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Iran authorities arrest academics affiliated with Mousavi: report

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Iranian authorities arrested 70 members of the Islamic Association of University Teachers after they met with opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi on Wednesday, according to a statement on Mousavi's website. The professors met to discuss the recent unrest in the country and were reportedly arrested immediately after the meeting. According to the posting, there is no information available about where the academics were transferred. Mousavi plans to continue his protests over the recent presidential election, maintaining that the election results were fraudulent. According to reports, Mousavi has been placed under house arrest in an attempt to isolate him from reformist protesters. Mousavi alleges that his websites have been experiencing problems and that the Kalameh Sabz newspaper has been shut down and all of its editors arrested. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday granted a request from the Guardian Council of the Constitution to accept new complaints from opposition candidates for five more days. Although Khamenei will hear the candidates' grievances, he told legislators Wednesday that the government will not succumb to pressure over the election results. Mousavi supporters protested in Tehran and elsewhere after the victory of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, reportedly resulting in at least 17 deaths and hundreds of arrests. Following the Guardian Council's investigation, they conceded that the number of votes exceeded the number of voters in 50 voting districts but explained that the discrepancy could be due to voters' ability to vote anywhere in the country. Human rights groups have viewed the arrests as political repression, saying that Iranian forces are using the protests to "engage in what appears to be a major purge of reform-oriented individuals."

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on June 25, 2009 (boomark / email).