TORONTO — The main Iranian opposition leader’s top aide, who was arrested last week because of his investigations into the abuse of prisoners in the crackdown after the disputed election, has been released in what appears to be a sign of retreat by the hard-core conservative authorities running Iran.
The release of the aide, Alireza Hosseini-Beheshti, was reported Sunday by the semiofficial ILNA news agency. He is a highly regarded academic with Islamic revolutionary credentials who worked directly under the opposition leader, Mir Hussein Moussavi.
No explanation for the release was given. However, an Iranian source close to Mr. Moussavi, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said Mr. Beheshti’s freedom was secured only after immense pressure by senior politicians.
Mr. Beheshti’s arrest had seemed to illustrate the length the government was willing to go to silence its opposition. His father, Mohammad Beheshti, who was killed in an explosion in… >>>
