BEIRUT, LEBANON - Iranian authorities on Monday suspended two opposition political parties, banned a newspaper and handed down prison sentences to three reformist political figures in the latest sign that the country's hardline rulers aim to crush any official political representation by the reformist movement.
Reformists in Iran face a widening crackdown
April 20, 2010 at 12:58AM
The opposition parties -- the Islamic Iran Participation Front and the Mujahedeen of the Islamic Revolution -- were told to suspend all activities until a final decision was made about their status, according to the official IRNA news agency. The move was viewed as a precursor to a full ban.
The Mujahedeen of the Islamic Revolution, established during the Islamic Revolution in 1979, evolved to become a reformist group and supported Mir Hussein Moussavi, an opposition candidate in June's disputed presidential elections. The Islamic Iran Participation Front was formed in 1997 after the victory of Mohammad Khatami as president and quickly became the most important reformist political organ in the country.
The government also banned the reformist newspaper Bahar, accusing it of spreading doubts about the presidential election and questioning Iran's Islamic system of government, according to the reformist website Parleman News.
The three politicians -- Mostafa Tajzadeh, Davood Soleimani and Mohsen Mirdamadi -- each received six-year prison sentences and a 10-year ban on all activities related to political parties or the news media, according to Fars News. They were arrested last summer.
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An Israeli airstrike in Beirut killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens more, Lebanese health officials said. It was the first such Israeli attack on Lebanon's capital in months and came shortly after Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with 140 rockets.
