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(11 February 2011) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran called for the immediate release of dozens of journalists and dissidents who have been arbitrarily detained in an apparent effort to intimidate Iranians from participating in a 14 February rally in solidarity with the Egyptian pro-democracy movement.

The Campaign also called for an end to all restrictions on the movements of opposition leaders Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Moussavi, their associates and family members. Other prominent opposition figures are also under constant monitoring according to family members who spoke with the Campaign on the condition of anonymity.

“The government is doing all it can to intimidate Iranians and deny their right to peaceful assembly. With recent events in Egypt, we see another round of repression in Iran aimed at silencing a people frustrated and dissatisfied by the denial of their human rights,” said Hadi Ghaemi, the Campaign’s spokesperson.

After the 5 February announcement by opposition leaders to hold a rally next Monday in support of the Egyptian people’s uprising, Iranian officials began to issue warnings that they won’t tolerate any public demonstrations on that day.

Since the evening of 8 February, plainclothes security forces stormed the houses and offices of at least thirty activists, journalists, and dissidents, detaining most of them in the middle of the night and taking them to unknown locations. The agents did ... >>>