Now see Iran Special Analysis: The Security Forces Cross Ahmadinejad's "Red Line"
Ali Akbar Javenfekr (left) with President AhmadinejadRecreating the extraordinary story of the attempt by security forces to detain President Ahmadinejad's media advisor Ali Akbar Javanfekr, as they raided the offices of Iran, the newspaper he manages....
News broke this morning via Tabnak, linked to 2009 Presidential candidate Mohsen Rezaei, that security forces used tear gas and wielded electric batons after Javanfekr's colleagues tried to stop his detention to serve a one-year prison sentence, imposed yesterday over an issue of the newspaper on hijab.
Only five minutes earlier, Javanfekr had concluded a press conference in the newsroom, claiming that while the President supports the Supreme Leader, many clerics who are close to Ayatollah Khamenei are abusing their power. He said he would be silenced: “We should all be able to say our criticisms, There should not be an atmosphere of strangulation in this country.”
Javanfekr's statement was repeated defiance after a controversial interview he gave on Saturday to the reformist newspaper Etemaad --- which led to a ban on the publication --- in which he criticised high-ranking Iranian officials and said that principlists, initially linked to the Ahmadinejad Presidency, were now the "deviants" in the Iranian system.
Moments later, security forces moved up the stairs, injuring political editor Ali Reza Soltani. According to Mehr, Javanfekr was handcuffed for more than an hour as he resisted being taken away. The siege --- Kayhan jibed that it was Javanfekr's "sit-in" ---was only lifted when a phone call came from President Ahmadinejad.
While Javanfekr escaped being taken to prison, spekaing to reporters with bruises on his face, 33 employees of Iran were arrested as several floors of the building were sealed off. The Presidential advisor complained, “There was no need for such measures. If they summon me, I come myself.”
Javanfekr has said that he will soon hold a second press conference soon, insisting on the release of his arrested colleagues and resumed publication of Iran.