Journalist Akbar Ganji Said to Have Evaded Arrest

BBC Monitoring Service, Monsters and Critics:

Last night, a number of bailiffs went to Akbar Ganji's house and intended to arrest him based on a warrant signed by Sa'id Mortazavi, the Tehran prosecutor, but they were unable to do so because he was not at home. READ MORE

Speaking to ILNA's reporter, Ma'sumeh Shafi'i, Akbar Ganji's wife, added: The bailiffs were outside our front door until six o'clock [local time; 0130 gmt] this morning, but Ganji has not come home yet and we have no news of him.

She added: It had been said in the warrant, signed by the Tehran prosecutor, that the reason for the arrest warrant was unlawful interviews [given by Ganji] and the ending of his [prison] leave.

It should be mentioned that members of the Tehran council of the Office for the Consolidation of Unity [association of university students] have staged a sit-in in front of Akbar Ganji's house [to express support for Ganji]. Last night, too, a group of political activists and journalists went to Ganji's house and called for his [permanent] release. Ganji was on leave for one week for medical treatment.

Source: Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA), Tehran, in Persian 0620 gmt 8 Jun 05

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I am receiving conflicting reports on his status. I will publish more as soon as I can confirm the reports.