Opposition websites report that a group of top reformist figures has been arrested by Iranian authorities.
The Kaleme website reports that former lawmaker Hossein Loghmanian and four other reformist activists were arrested en route from Hamedan to meet former president Mohammad Khatami in Tehran.
The four others, according to Kaleme, include three men and one woman who are currently at the Ministry of Intelligence office in Hamedan, and the reason for the arrests has not been announced.
Loghmanian is a former member of parliament that ran Mehdi Karroubi’s camapgin headquarters in Hamadan.
The embattled Iranian reformists are testing the waters to see if they can safely participate in the coming June presidential election. Many top reformist figures are currently serving prison terms for their activities in the last election. The two reformist candidates, MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, have been under house arrest since February 2011 for challenging the legitimacy of the election vote count.
A group of reformists met with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei earlier this month in order to find some grounds for renewed reformist activity in the political arena. Some conservative elements in the establishment remain hostile to the idea of reformists returning to the fray while others have been more welcoming.
Many have suggested that former reformist president, Mohammad Khatami should run in the coming elections but no official announcements have so far been made about a reformist candidate in the elections.
Source: Radio Zamaneh