Iran shuts down pro-Mousavi paper, arrests 25 staffers

Washington, 23 June (WashingtonTV)—Iran’s security forces swarmed the office of Kalameh-ye Sabz [Green Word] newspaper in Tehran on Monday, and arrested its chief editor, Alireza Beheshti-Shirazi, and 25 of its employees, Qalam News website reports.

Defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi is licensed as the owner of the press outlet, the name of which refers to the Mousavi campaign’s color.

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in demonstrations which began on Saturday, 13 June, and continued all week, in response to what they say is a rigged 12 June presidential poll, in which incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was officially declared as the decisive winner.

Dozens of journalists and over 800 political activists have reportedly been rounded up by government forces, as the Islamic Republic tries to regain control of streets in Tehran and other major cities, in the clearest sign of popular discontent since the 1979 revolution.

Kalameh-ye Sabz, which halted publication two days ago, was due to print an issue on Saturday.

Source: Qalam News website, in Persian

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(Original article written in Persian.)