Students say others missing
Thursday, July 22, 1999
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- An Iranian pro-democracy student
group said today that some students were still missing and believed held
by security forces, despite officials' claims the crackdown against protesters
had ended.
The Council of Student Protesters, which speaks for pro-democracy demonstrators
who earlier this month staged six days of protests, said in a statement
that ``a wave of arrests'' had begun after the demonstrations.
The council accused authorities of continuing arrests, beatings and
forced confessions, even after authorities said political detentions had
stopped.
``Some people have been arrested merely for being students. After being
interrogated for hours, they were beaten and forced to sign confessions
blindfolded,'' the group said in the statement published in the Hamshahri
daily, seen on the Internet in Dubai.
Seven of its members and students from other universities were still
missing, the council said.
Iran's Intelligence Ministry said earlier this week that students arrested
in the demonstrations who were not identified as members of subversive
groups had all been released. It said it had let go 750 of the 1,200 arrested.
Also Thursday, Interior Minister Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari accused Iran's
so-called enemies of trying to undermine the government of Iranian President
Mohammad Khatami.
``We should not put pressure on the people and limit their legal freedoms
under the pretext of maintaining security in the country,'' said Lari,
a moderate cleric aligned with Khatami.
``The government is determined to strongly proceed with its social
plans,'' Lari was quoted as saying by the Islamic Republic News Agency.
At least three people were killed in the weeklong violence that began
July 9 with police and hard-line vigilantes storming a Tehran University
dormitory after a peaceful rally against hard-liners in the Islamic government.
It led to demonstrations and clashes with the police as the protests
spread to eight other major cities.
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