Supreme Leader To Participate In Iran's Student Day Ceremony

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is expected to participate, for the first time, in Iran's Student Day ceremony, on December 6, and to speak at the Iran University of Science and Technology in Tehran.

In recent years, there have been vigorous student protests during Student Day addresses by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Iranian reformist Hashem Aghajari stated that the regime was trying to turn the universities into military camps, and criticized the narrowing of free speech in academia and in the student circles in Iran.

Sources: Jomhouri-e Eslami, Iran, November 29, 2008; newspaper of student movement at Amir Kabir university, Iran, November 28, 2008; Emrooz, Iran, November 24, 2008.

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ruba'i: A Legacy of Reform, Inquiry and Analysis Series - No. 465 - September 17, 2008

Government-Appointed Kuwaiti Preacher: Europeans Are Immoral, Unclean, and Cowardly, Special Dispatch Series - No. 2053 - September 16, 2008

Saudi Liberals: Following 9/11... The Voice of Islamism Disintegrated into Fragments... And the Voice of Liberalism is Gaining the Upper Hand, Special Dispatch Series - No. 2049 - September 11, 2008

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Egyptian blogger Abdelkareem Nabil Suleiman was arrested for allegedly "defaming the President of Egypt" and "highlighting inappropriate aspects the harm the reputation of Egypt" on his blog.

A petition calling for his release has been posted online by the HAMSA organization ("Hands Across the Mideast Support Alliance"), an American Muslim association for promoting civil rights in the Middle East.

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