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| Axis of Evil |
| Controversial pro-reform Iranian journalist arrested |
| 2002-08-08 |
| Controversial pro-reform journalist Hashem Aghajari, who offended the powerful Shiite clergy, was arrested Thursday on a court order issued in Hamadan, IRNA said. Aghajari had angered the clergy in mid-June when he said Muslims "should not blindly" follow religious leaders and called for a "religious renewal" of Shiite Islam, in a speech delivered in the western city of Hamedan. He was freed provisionally after posting bail following a July 14 court hearing behind closed doors in Hamadan, but was later accused of "insulting the prophets", a serious charge for which the penalty is death. He thought he was insulting the ayatollahs... He rejected this charge, saying the "judge was not able to show me one phrase of my speech that could be considered an insult to the prophet" of Islam, Mohammed. Aghajari's remarks placed the country's conservative and reformist currents at loggerheads — and he was criticized unexpectedly by President Mohammed Khatami in early July. Thereby continuing his pattern of caving to the turbans... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |