New wave of arrests condemned by human rights group

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran urged the government not to interfere with the funeral ceremony of Ayatollah Montazeri and to put an end to “abuse and arrest of his supporters.”

The Campaign published a statement expressing concern over the “new wave” of arrests targeting Ayatollah Montazeri supporters.

Ayatollah Montazeri’s funeral was held this morning in Qom and hundreds of thousands of people attended the ceremony.

Yesterday, Ahmad Ghabel, a government critic and long-time student of Ayatollah Montazeri was arrested in Neyshapour on his way from Mashhad to attend the ceremonies.

Buses carrying families of political prisoners as well as women’s and human rights activists to the funeral have been stopped by security forces. While no exact numbers have been released but several prominent activists have been reportedly arrested.

Norooz website reports that these detainees have been taken away by plainclothes forces to an unspecified location.

The reformist website, Mowjcamp has reported that Ministry of Intelligence has contacted several social activists and journalist to warn them that in case of an attempt to attend Ayatollah Montazeri's funeral, they will be arrested.

Since student groups from the country’s universities have also issued condolence messages, the Campaign for Human Rights has also expressed deep concern over “violent oppression” of students.

Referring to the deceased cleric as “one of the victims of human rights violations” in Ira, the Campaign maintains that the memoirs of Ayatollah Montazeri are the most vital evidence of the mass execution of political prisoners in 1990.