Jinous Sobhani, secretary of the independent Defenders of Human Rights Center in Tehran, was detained by Iranian authorities Jan. 14, Narges Mohammadi, deputy head of the center, told Reuters. "People from the intelligence ministry arrested her on Wednesday morning," she said "They had an arrest warrant and search warrant." She said the authorities did not explain why Sobhani was detained. Sobhani is a follower of the Baha'i [2] faith, and at least six Baha'is were arrested in Tehran that same day in raids on 11 homes. Baha'i books, literature and computers were also confiscated in the raids. (World Bulletin [3], Turkey, Baha'i News Service [4], Jan. 15)
The Defenders of Human Rights Center, founded by Shirin Ebadi, was ordered closed by the authorities [5] on Dec. 21. A week later, Ebadi's private office was also raided, with computers and files confiscated. (NYT [6], Dec. 29)
See our last posts on Iran [7] and the civil opposition [8].
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