Iran detains prominent liberal intellectual

A liberal intellectual has been arrested in Iran, the first detention of a prominent academic since the election of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last year.

A liberal intellectual has been arrested in Iran, the first detention of a prominent academic since the election of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last year, a Cabinet minister told state media on Thursday.

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Ramin Jahanbegloo was arrested earlier this week on charges of espionage and violating security measures, the state-controlled IRAN Persian daily newspaper quoted an unidentified Iranian official as saying.

The Hungarian Academy of Sciences said on Thursday that the philosopher was arrested April 27 at a Tehran airport and had been supposed to arrive in Hungary on May 3, as part of a European trip that would have included stops in Austria and Poland. "The academy asks that the scientific activities of Ramin Jahanbegloo not be limited by restrictions on his freedom," the academy said in a statement.