At least 17 people, including a popular reformist journalist, were wounded earlier this week as hundreds of conservative hard-liners attacked a planned speech on reforms, Iranian newspapers reported Wednesday.
Journalist Latif Safari and reformist Parliament member Hossein Loghmanian were scheduled to speak at a pro-reform gathering in a mosque in the western province of Kermanshah when a crowd of around 300 hard-liners stormed the mosque, the government-run paper Iran said, cited by AFP.
The gathering was being held under the theme of "Reforms: Achievements and Failures."
"The clashes started when close to 300 people opposed to the gathering prevented the speech from being held by chanting slogans and making noise," it said.
"The violence-seekers ... vandalized the mosque, broke windows and ripped up pictures of the president (Khatami), and even threatened to kill some of the local officials," said the pro-reform paper Noruz.
Iran paper, quoting witnesses, said "at least 17 people were injured during the clashes," adding that Safari, director of the banned Neshat newspaper, was "injured in the neck area following an assault by an aggressor."
"Special police forces entered the scene and used tear-gas to disperse the crowd," Iran said adding, "a number of aggressors were arrested by the police."
Prominent reformist Safari was freed from jail last July after having been sentenced to three years in jail by a press tribunal for "anti-Islamic propaganda."
Neshat newspaper was one of the most widely read publications in Tehran, and especially popular on university campuses.
Safari, who spent 18 months in jail, was also convicted of inciting trouble during student demonstrations in July 1999, of insulting a lawmaker and publishing "false" reports.
His newspaper was hostile towards the Islamic republic's powerful conservative camp and closed during a shutdown of reformist publications in April 2000.
Loghmanian, who was sentenced to 13 months in jail last year for "libeling and slandering Iran's judicial system" in a parliamentary speech, was also scheduled to speak at the gathering. His prison sentence is being appealed, AFP added. (albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
