Iran Cracks Down Ahead of Rally

Internet access slows, foreign media warned on eve of annual event
By Marie Morris,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 6, 2009 4:25 PM CST
Iran Cracks Down Ahead of Rally
A demonstrator wearing a mask in the opposition party's signature green protests election results at a mass rally in Azadi (Freedom) square in Tehran, Iran, June 15, 2009.   (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

An annual rally is shaping up as another battle between Iran's government and citizens, with Internet access in Tehran restricted and foreign reporters warned not even to go outside for the next 3 days. Dec. 7 is Students Day, marking the anniversary of the deaths of three student protesters in 1953, but this year's observation is likely to turn into another protest of the disputed June presidential election.

"We expect the respected faculty and students, particularly given the current sensitive situation, to prevent anyone from possibly taking advantage of these ceremonies," the security forces command told the semi-official ILNA news agency. "Journalists who have chosen not to the leave the country are being constantly threatened or summoned by the intelligence services, including the intelligence service of the Revolutionary Guards," Reporters Without Borders said in a statement.
(More Iran stories.)

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