Iran has arrested 25 journalists and other staff at a newspaper owned by defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, one of its editors told AFP on Wednesday. -- PHOTO: AP
TEHRAN - IRAN has arrested 25 journalists and other staff at a newspaper owned by defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, one of its editors told AFP on Wednesday.
The arrests come after the newspaper Kalemeh Sabz (Green Word) was shut down by the authorities in the wake of the disputed election that returned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to office.
'Among those arrested on Monday were five or six administrative employees while the rest were journalists,' Mr Alireza Beheshti said. 'The agents who came to the newspaper did not show a warrant.' He said five women among the detainees had been released on Tuesday.
Kalemeh Sabz was only launched in the run-up to June 12 election by Mousavi, a former post-revolution premier who has alleged widespread fraud in the poll.
Scores of journalists and reformists politicians have been jailed following Mr Ahmadinejad's re-election which triggered a week of mass protests and violent clashes between Mousavi supporters and security forces.
Iran has accused foreign media of provoking the protests, where at least 17 people have been killed, and has arrested at least two reporters working for US media outlets. -- AFP
