Iran arrests dissident cleric, warns against protest

(AFP) – Iran has stepped up pressure on the opposition, arresting a dissident cleric and warning against using SMS and email messages to organise anti-government protests, reports said on Friday.
Mid-ranking cleric Mohammad Taghi Khalaji, who was close to late dissident Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, was arrested at his home in the city of Qom on Tuesday, reformist website Norooznews said.
"The (reason for) his arrest is not known yet but he had on several occasions backed protests against election results" which saw President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad returned for a second term amid allegations of massive fraud, the report said.
Iranian authorities have launched a new wave of arrests following bloody protests during Shiite mourning rituals of Ashura on December 27, when eight people were killed.
The detained cleric's son, Mehdi Khalaji, is a senior research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and two members of the US House of Representatives condemned the arrest.
"The regime's intimidation and imprisonment of clerics critical of the current government must cease at once," Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Howard Berman said in a joint statement.
"We are deeply concerned by reports that the Iranian regime has arrested Ayatollah... Khalaji and confiscated both his and his family's personal possessions and passports, thereby preventing them from leaving Iran," they added.
Norooznews did not say whether passports and possession had been seized.
Iranian clerics backing the opposition have faced mounting pressure by hardliners since the death of Montazeri, whose December funeral was attended by thousands of opposition supporters.
An outspoken critic of the Islamic regime he helped create, Montazeri joined the opposition by calling for protests and branding Ahmadinejad's government as illegitimate.
The disputed June 12 election triggered mass street protests for a week which were met by heavy crackdown.
Since then opposition supporters have taken to the streets on every possible occasion to stage anti-government rallies, especially alongside state-sponsored events.
Iran's police chief, meanwhile, has warned opposition supporters against using text and email messages to organise rallies amid reports new demonstrations are being planned, ISNA news agency said Friday.
"These people should know where they are sending the SMS and email as these systems are under control. They should not think using proxies will prevent their identification," Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam said.
"If these people continue, their (data) records will be examined and those who organise or issue appeals have committed a worse crime than those who come to the streets," he warned.
Iran's cyber-savvy young opposition supporters have used the Internet effectively since unrest erupted after the disputed election to organise demonstrations and spread news and pictures.
Reports are now circulating that the opposition plans to take to the streets again on the anniversary of the Islamic revolution on February 11.
The authorities have taken to blocking text messaging and slowing down Internet speeds on protest days and vowed to show no tolerance towards any new protests as hardliners demand severe action against demonstrators and opposition leaders.
Some senior hardline clerics have gone as far as declaring them as "Mohareb" -- or enemies of God -- who deserve execution.
Hundreds were arrested during the Ashura protests and ISNA Friday reported that the Iranian judiciary has indicated it will soon put on trial 16 of those rounded up, with one among them accused of being a "Mohareb."
The judiciary did not identify the defendants and said that the other 15 were charged with "gathering and conspiring against security and propaganda against the system."