GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations human rights office called on Tuesday for the immediate release of prominent activists and journalists it said had been arrested or intimidated as part of an apparent clampdown on critical voices ahead of next year's presidential election.
Spokesman Rupert Colville cited among others the cases of Ali Akbar Javanfekr, press adviser to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and head of the state-run IRNA news agency, jailed for six months for insulting the Supreme Leader, and Reuters Bureau Chief Parisa Hafezi charged with spreading lies and propaganda.