TEHRAN, Iran, July 9 -- The banning of Iran's leading leftist daily Salam has sparked protests by university students who took to the streets and clashed with police forces, reportedly wounding several people. The official Iranian News Agency today says the unrest started Thursday night when some 200 students at Tehran University staged a brief rally outside their dormitory. IRNA quoted Interior Ministry spokesman Baha'eddin Sheikholeslam as saying that the students marched towards the Jalal-al-ahmad freeway shouting slogans. Sheikholeslam said that shortly after the students returned to their dorms, they were attacked by plainclothes men who hurled stones at them. He said authorities intervened without informing the interior ministry and arrested a number of students. He added that Tehran's security council convened and it was agreed that all detained students, except those who organized the rally, be freed. Sheikholeslam said a number of students and law enforcement officers had been injured and rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. Reports indicated that the protests resumed after noon prayers and fierce confrontations broke out between security forces and hundreds of students. IRNA said a number of people were injured in the confrontations. But Iran's opposition Mujaheedeen Qhalq group claimed that some 1,000 students were injured and a similar number were arrested. The claim could not be confirmed. The students were protesting the conservative-dominant Parliament or Majlis for approving on Wednesday the outline of a new media law which the liberals said will limit press freedoms in Iran and a court decision to ban the Salam newspaper.
The newspaper, which backs reformist President Mohammed Khatami, was ordered closed Wednesday for an indefinite time by a special court which accused it of 'violating the principles of Islam and subjecting the country's national security to danger.' The court said the Ministry of Intelligence lodged a complaint against the newspaper for publishing what it described as a secret memorandum for restricting freedom of media supporting Khatami. The Ministry announced Thursday that it was withdrawing its complaint to prevent 'provocative developments and tension.' ---
Copyright 1999 by United Press International. All rights reserved. ---
