Information on penalties for the possession of pro-Montazeri materials could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

The term "pro-Montazeri" refers to liberal cleric Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri who was "placed under house arrest for challenging the rule of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei" (The Iranian 18 May 1998). According to AFP, Montazeri was

once tapped to be the country's supreme leader.... [He was] ousted as Khomeini's deputy and disgraced in a power struggle shortly before [Khomeini's] death in [1989]. He lives in the holy city of Qom, denied virtually all contact with the outside world, but has from time to time made his liberal views known.

In December [2000] he managed to publish his memoirs on the internet, recounting among other things the mass executions of opponents in the early days of the regime (21 June 2001).

These memoirs also included "a decree from Khomenei declaring that all members of the Mojahedin, an opposition movement, were to be killed" (Church and State 1 Mar. 2001). Further, Montazeri "questioned the legitimacy of clerical rule, including the authority of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei" for which he was accused of treason (AP 10 Sept. 2001). According to AP, "[t]alk about the fate of [Montazeri] has until recently been taboo in Iran" although he "continues to enjoy a large following and his views on religion are respected by Shiite Muslims around the world" (ibid.).

A number of reports detail cases where individuals were charged with the distribution of pro-Montazeri materials (ibid.; AP 10 Sept. 2001; AFP 21 June 2001; FarsiNet News Jan 1999). Please see Responses IRN31373.E of 4 March 1999 and IRN29653.E of 6 July 1998 for earlier information concerning the distribution of pro-Montazeri information in Iran.

The Research Directorate found only one report of where an individual's arrest included mention of the possession of pro-Montazeri material (AFP 13 Mar. 2001). The arrest of journalist Fariba Davoudi-Mohadjer on 15 February 2001, reportedly for "having headed an internet website named after" Montazeri, coincided with the confiscation of "some 30,000 pages of documents on Montazeri in her house" (ibid.). According to Writers in Prison, Davoudi-Mohadjer was "[r]eportedly released without charge on 12 March 2001" (18 Nov. 2001).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Agence France Presse (AFP). 21 June 2001. "Iranian Deputies Call for Lifting of Restrictions on Dissident Ayatollah." (NEXIS)

_____. 13 March 2001. "Iran Pro-Reform Woman Journalist Released on Bail." (NEXIS)

Associated Press (AP) Worldstream. 10 September 2001. "Daughter of Top Iranian Dissident Cleric Criticizes Khatami." (NEXIS)

Church and State. 1 March 2001. Vol. 54, No. 3. "Iran Needs Separation of Mosque and State, Rights Activist Says; Brief Article." (NEXIS)

FarsiNet News. January 1999. "Iran Dissident Supporters Nabbed." http://www.farsinet.com/news/jan99wk1.html [Accessed 8 Mar. 2002]

The Iranian. 18 May 1998. "Wave of Arrests in Dissident Iranian Cleric's Hometown." http://www.iranian.com/News/May98/arrests.htm [Accessed 8 Mar. 2002]

Writers in Prison. 18 November 2001. "Middle East." http://www.wauwau.at/wip/cases/middleeast.html [Accessed 11 Mar. 2002]

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB Databases

NEXIS

World News Connection

Internet sites including

BBC

Iran Virtual Library

The Iranian

IranNewsWatch.com

Middle East Times

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Newsline and Iran Report

Washington Post

Search engines

Google.com

Yahoo.com