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Insight: Ahead of vote, 'kidnapped' Iran reformists imprisoned at home

June 11, 2013 11:33
By Yeganeh Torbati DUBAI (Reuters) - Four years after Iranians took to the streets to demonstrate against the results of a presidential election, the authorities are taking no chances this time, keeping opposition leaders confined under house arrest with doors and windows welded shut. When Iran elects a new president on Friday, authorities are determined to prevent a repeat of the street unrest that posed the biggest challenge to the Islamic Republic's ruling system since its birth in the 1979 revolution.

Iran reformers seek comeback in presidential vote

Agence France-PresseJune 9, 2013 23:32
Iranian reformists are making a tentative return to mainstream politics with two candidates in Friday's presidential election, despite the opposition being a shadow of the movement that briefly rocked the establishment in 2009. Protests by the so-called Green Movement four years ago, over the controversial re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, were harshly suppressed and its leaders condemned to house arrest where they still languish.

Iranian presidential candidate's staff arrested: report

June 2, 2013 05:46
By Yeganeh Torbati DUBAI (Reuters) - Members of a moderate Iranian presidential candidate's campaign team were arrested on Saturday, an opposition website said, after a rally in which he criticized heightened security measures in the country. Supporters of Hassan Rohani also shouted slogans in support of detained opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi at the rally in Tehran, according to a video of the event posted on YouTube.

Iran presidential election TV debate fails to inspire

Agence France-PresseJune 1, 2013 11:47
Candidates in Iran's June 14 presidential election all agree that rampant inflation is the most pressing problem, but commentators Saturday bemoaned that in a first television debate none proposed real solutions. Press commentators accepted the complaints of several candidates that the Friday debate's format, which gave little scope for real discussion of issues, had not helped them present their policies.

Ottawa turns to digital diplomacy to reach Iran ahead of June elections

The Canadian PressMay 10, 2013 09:30
OTTAWA - Canada is seeking to restore diplomatic relations with Iran — but not the old-fashioned way. Instead of ambassadors and attaches, the Foreign Affairs Department is aiming to connect with Iranians directly, via social media. They're working with the University of Toronto's Munk School to host two days of discussions that will be live-streamed online in the hopes of reaching and inspiring Iranians ahead of June's presidential elections.

Iran crackdown jeopardises fair election - UN rights envoy

March 12, 2013 14:45
* Arrests of journalists do not bode well, Shaheed says * Concerns for Iranian opposition leaders still detained * Envoy rejects Iran's "preposterous" claim of U.S. bribe * Iranian official calls U.N. report "counterproductive" By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA, March 12 (Reuters) - Iran's silencing of journalists and opposition leaders could jeopardise the legitimacy of the presidential election in June, a United Nations human rights investigator said on Tuesday.

Iran questions opposition head's daughters: reports

February 11, 2013 13:46
Iran's security prosecutor questioned on Monday two daughters of leading opposition figure Mir Hossein Mousavi, who has been under house arrest for nearly two years, the ISNA news agency reported. Zahra and Narges Mousavi were summoned to "the security prosecutor ... to give some explanations," a spokesman for the Tehran prosecutor said, quoted by ISNA, without giving details on the interrogation. The two returned home later the same day, ISNA quoted Mohammad Saleh Noqrekar, a relative of Mousavi, as saying.

UN voices concern over Iran opposition detentions

February 11, 2013 13:30
Three UN human rights watchdogs on Monday expressed concern about Iran's reported arrest of family members of detained opposition figure Mir Hossein Mousavi, who they said should also be set free. In a joint statement, the monitors said Iran should release Mousavi's daughters, detained Monday, plus Mousavi and his wife, and fellow opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi.

UPDATE 3-Iran holds, questions opposition leaders' children

February 11, 2013 11:30
* Daughters, son held two years after house arrest * Mousavi and Karoubi stood in 2009 president vote * Both effectively barred from next poll in June (Adds calls from independent U.N. human rights investigators) DUBAI, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Iranian authorities held and questioned two daughters of detained opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi and the son of fellow opposition figure Mehdi Karoubi for several hours on Monday, opposition websites reported.

Iran summons opposition figure daughters for 'explanations'

February 11, 2013 11:15
Iran's public prosecutor has summoned for questioning two daughters of opposition figure Mir Hossein Mousavi, who has been under house arrest for nearly two years, the ISNA news agency reported on Monday. "They were summoned... to give some explanations," ISNA quoted a spokesman for the prosecutor as saying, without giving details on the questioning. He said Zahra and Narges Mousavi would be released after their interrogation. A statement on the prosecutor's website denied an earlier report that the sisters had been arrested.
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