This afternoon Ahmad Batebi, was arrested in front of his home in Tehran by plain clothes secret service agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
At 5 pm on Saturday evening, as Batebi and his wife Somaya, exited their apartment building they were accosted by several agents, forcing Batebi and Somaya back inside for interrogation and inspection of their home.
Somaya Batebi said that the agents spent 3 hours inspecting their apartment and finally gathered and confiscated Batebi’s personal property, including his computer, cellular phone, CD’s, several files and family photo albums.
In a phone call, Ahmad Batebi’s father expressed fear and concern for his son’s safety and wellbeing; Batebi’s father said that if his son’s situation is not clarified by tomorrow, Sunday, July 30th, he and other members of the Batebi will start a hunger strike.
Batebi’s father also stated that Ahmad himself had communicated that should he be illegally re-arrested, he would go on hunger strike during the initial hours of his detention.
It appears that after interrogation that Ahmad Batebi would have been transferred to detention center 209 of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security.
Ahmad Batebi was orginally arrested in 1999 during the massive student uprising in Tehran. He was arrested because of the humiliation the regime felt after this young man's photo appears on the cover of the Economist and has become a symbol of the Iranian student movement.
This photo appeared all over the world but sadly the western media failed to condemn the Iranian government for arresting this young man. Dr. Iman Foroutan also confirmed the report of his rearrest.
We need to spread the word on this arrest so the Iranian government will know the world is watching his fate.
Alan's Comment: Ahmad Batebi, general figurehead for the generic student movements in Iran, was reportedly in hiding and in fear for his life - yet he has been openly earning his living by selling advertising for a local newspaper for quite some time and his recent arrest was outside his own apartment, where he has been living with his wife! Does not sound like a fugitive to me.
In fact, the immediate announcement of a hunger strike by him and his family - while quite possibly a defensive reaction - smacks too much of a repeat performance of imprisoned journalist Akbar Ganji.
Ganji, truth be told now wanders the Western world, gathering information at the highes levels and making statements to divide and splinter the anti-Islamic regime Opposition groups.
What has been forgotten by the western intelligence agencies is that Ganji was a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and while posted in Turkey by the Mullahs, did untold harm to Iranian refugees fleeing their country. INCLUDING use of brutal torture in his interrogations!
Suddenly we have the makings of another clandestine "envoy" of the Mullahs, who will suffer - like Ganji - then be allowed to reach the Western world and be embraced by top level people, who currently willingly discuss secrets with "dissident" Ganji and will also do so with Batebi when he shows up.
Trojan horses did not go out of style in Hellenic times.
The Mullahs send them at us as often as they can sneak them in. Some get as far as Canada and get stuck. Others infiltrate into the hallowed halls of our CIA with a push and a shove from radical left wingers like Chomsky, who has "adopted" Ganji and promotes him.
NOTE: "Dissident" Ganji "dissed" the President of the USA and refused to meet with anyone at the White House when invited to do so during his trip to the USA. Soudn lie someone who wants a regime change? Or a Mullah plant, whose "minder" and sponsor, radical left-winger Chomsky has introduced to the wpoers that be, including our intelligence agencies.
Wake up people. "All is never what it seems" as CIA trainers repeatedly tell their students.
Yet we tend to ignore the warning flags with bleeding heart liberal carelessness of careerists, who have taken over so much of our critical international policy from skilled operatives with useful in the field experience and good instincts.
i love how everyone doubts these dissidents- when it comes to Fakhravar, ganji, ebadi, and NOW BATEBI. the man was arrested for holding up a shirt.......what a conspiracy?! He was on the run for about a year, so what if was able to work? No Iranian in their right mind would rat him out, he is a hero for us all.
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