Student Leaders Detained in Iran

VOA - Three leading Iranian student activists have been detained in Tehran, minutes after canceling protests called to mark the anniversary of student unrest in the capital four years ago. Other members of the pro-reform student umbrella group Office to Consolidate Unity say the three activists were taken away by plainclothes men.

Reuters news agency quotes witnesses as saying about 15 people armed with handguns pushed aside uniformed police and forced the three activists into waiting cars. The report says other activists barricaded themselves in OCU offices and refused to come out until reformists lawmakers arrived to guarantee their safety.

Moments before being detained, the three activists said they were canceling a campus protest and demonstrations in front of the United Nations offices in the capital. They said they feared a backlash from government security forces.

Four years ago, hardline vigilantes attacked a Tehran University dormitory, killing one person and sparking nearly a week of mass protests.

Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.