Journalist arrested in Iran

Iran's parliament is thrown into disarray over press law

By Sadeq Saba in London

Police in Iran have detained a prominent journalist, Ahmad Zeid-Abadi, for allegedly failing to appear before the press court.

Details of charges against Mr Zeid-Abadi are not known. But hardline judge, Saeed Mortazavi, said he had ordered the arrest because the journalist had failed to answer a court summons.

Mr Zeid-Abadi works for Iran's biggest circulation pro-reform newspaper, Hamshahri, owned by the Tehran municipality.

The arrest comes a day after the supreme Iranian leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, blocked a move by reformers in parliament to ease restrictions on the press.

Since April, more than 20 pro-reform newspapers have been closed and several well-known journalists jailed.

House search

Mr Zeid-Abadi's wife told the Iranian official news agency Irna that more than 10 police officers searched their house early on Monday before taking her husband to prison.

Ayatollah Khamenei has powers over parliament

She said books, articles, her husband's passport and even their children's cartoon video tapes were taken away.

Mr Zeid-Abadi has worked for a number of pro-reform publications in Iran and gave frequent interviews to foreign radio stations on Iranian politics.

He is close to a coalition of liberal opposition forces in Iran known as the religious-nationalist movement.

It is feared that Ayatollah Khamenei's intervention at the weekend to prevent parliament to reform Iran's draconian press laws may encourage conservative courts to take a much tougher line against journalists.

Conservatives have welcomed the Ayatollah's controversial decision and said he was entitled to issue orders as the supreme leader of Iran.

But some reformist deputies have questioned Ayatollah Khamenei's right to overrule parliament and vowed to introduce the press bill again to parliament.