Escalating Tensions in Iran - 2002-11-19

In Iran, thousands of reform-seeking students and hardline conservative supporters held separate gatherings in Tehran as tensions rise in response to the death sentence issued for a reformist university professor. About 2,000 Basij members gathered today at Tehran University. One of the speakers from this group stated that our guideline is Islamic values, and anyone who deviates from these values must pay a heavy price. This was, in fact, a clear warning to rival students who are calling for reforms. Protests escalated when it was reported that Basij members severely beat a reformist representative from Ahvaz on Monday. At Amir Kabir University of Technology, around 2,000 reform-seeking students continued their protests against the death sentence of Dr. Hashem Aghajari and demanded freedom of expression. Dr. Aghajari was sentenced to death for questioning the rule of clerics in the Islamic Republic, but Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has ordered a review of this sentence. Political tensions are peaking as moderate President Mohammad Khatami attempts to rein in the power of conservatives who control the judiciary and other key institutions.