Breaking: Iranian student leader, Ahamad Batebi, arrested

Kianoosh Sanjari: Translation by Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi

This afternoon Ahmad Batebi, was arrested in front of his home in Tehran by plain clothes secret service agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

At 5 pm on Saturday evening, as Batebi and his wife Somaya, exited their apartment building they were accosted by several agents, forcing Batebi and Somaya back inside for interrogation and inspection of their home.

Somaya Batebi said that the agents spent 3 hours inspecting their apartment and finally gathered and confiscated Batebi’s personal property, including his computer, cellular phone, CD’s, several files and family photo albums.

In a phone call, Ahmad Batebi’s father expressed fear and concern for his son’s safety and wellbeing; Batebi’s father said that if his son’s situation is not clarified by tomorrow, Sunday, July 30th, he and other members of the Batebi will start a hunger strike.

Batebi’s father also stated that Ahmad himself had communicated that should he be illegally re-arrested, he would go on hunger strike during the initial hours of his detention.

It appears that after interrogation that Ahmad Batebi would have been transferred to detention center 209 of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security.

Ahmad Batebi was orginally arrested in 1999 during the massive student uprising in Tehran. He was arrested because of the humiliation the regime felt after this young man's photo appears on the cover of the Economist and has become a symbol of the Iranian student movement. This photo appeared all over the world but sadly the western media failed to condemn the Iranian government for arresting this yougn man. Dr. Iman Foroutan also confirmed the report of his rearrest. We need to spread the word on this arrest so the Iranian government will know the world is watching his fate.