Iran Arrests 7 Linked to US -Funded Radio

VOA News 07 February 2010



Iranian state media say Iran has arrested seven people linked to U.S.-
funded Radio Farda and has accused some of working for U.S. spy
agencies.

The official new agency IRNA says the seven are suspected of provoking
protesters during the violent anti-government demonstration last
December.

At least eight people died on Ashura, the day of ritual Shi'ite Muslim
mourning, after clashes broke out between security forces and
opposition supporters.

IRNA did not identify those arrested. Radio Farda is a Farsi-language
broadcast service based in Prague, Czech Republic, and funded by the
U.S. government.

The arrests come as Iran is beginning to mark the 31st anniversary of
the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled the U.S.-backed shah.

Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have urged
their supporters to make their voices heard when Iranians march on
February 11. Iran's government has threatened severe reprisals if the
protests take place.