News

On Sunday bloody street battles in cities across Iran exposed the regime's brutality for all the world to see. On Monday, the government restarted one of the darker arts it has mastered: grabbing its democrats and stuffing them in a hole.

Among the dissidents arrested was veteran democratic activist Heshmat Tabarzadi. On December 17, Mr. Tabarzadi wrote in an op-ed article on these pages that "If the government continues to opt for violence, there very well may be another revolution in Iran. One side has to step down. And that side is the government—not the people."

Mr. Tabarzadi's home in Tehran is under constant surveillance, so he knew the risks he took when he published an article in The Wall Street Journal under his own name. This is a man who appreciates the consequences of calling publicly for democracy: He spent nine years in Iran's notorious Evin prison, including two in solitary confinement, for his activities as a student leader.

read more:

 //online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703510304574626453406091222.html