Free Republic

US assails Iran's treatment of dissidents after jailed student's death The United States harshly condemned what it called Iran's "severe repression of dissidents" following the death of a jailed student activist, reportedly as the result of a long hunger strike. Student activist Akbar Mohammadi died Sunday in Tehran's Evin prison, where he had been held for his role in pro-democracy student demonstrations in July 1999. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Mohammadi's detention "was not an isolated case" and his death was symptomatic of the Iranian regime's harsh treatment of its opponents. "The United States condemns the Iranian government's severe...

Iranian Judiciary Allows Seven Jailed Dissidents to go on Leave May 02, 2004 Agence France Presse afp.com TEHRAN -- Iranian hardline judiciary authorities in a rare move have allowed seven prominent dissidents jailed for speaking out against the regime and students jailed during unrest in 1999 to go on leave, the Iranian daily Shargh reported on Sunday. According to the paper, Akbar Ganji, who was jailed in 2000 after he alleged top regime officials were behind a spate of grisly serial murders of dissidents, was given seven days of leave starting Saturday. Ahmad Batebi, Nasser Zarafshan and Akbar Mohammadi were...