Ebrahim Yazdi Returns to Iran

Ebrahim Yazdi, the leader of the banned Freedom Movement of Iran, returned to Iran to face criminal charges against him from the United States. Today, he told over 200 supporters who welcomed him at Tehran Airport that he would not withdraw from political activities. The 70-year-old dissident had been undergoing medical treatment for prostate cancer in the U.S. for over a year. Last July, the Iranian regime issued arrest warrants for Yazdi and about 60 other dissidents from the Freedom Movement on charges of attempting to overthrow the Islamic government. This group believes it is a peace-seeking organization operating within the laws of Iran. Yazdi returned home today, and so far, there have been no reports of Iranian authorities attempting to arrest him. Ebrahim Yazdi was a senior official in the first provisional government of the Islamic Revolution of 1979 but later joined the ranks of the opponents of the Muslim clerics who seized power in Iran and suppressed dissent. Yazdi's return to Iran follows the recent death of Yadollah Sahabi, one of the founders of the Freedom Movement. Maryam Ahmadi conducted an interview with journalist Ahmad Zeidabadi regarding Dr. Yazdi's return and the possibility of his arrest by the judiciary.