Iran cracks down on activists

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/21/iran-election-crackdown-rights-activists

Iran has launched a public crackdown on dissent before next month's presidential election, executing two men charged with espionage and waging war against God, arresting a group of activists and summoning campaigners for questioning. Political prisoners in some of the country's most notorious jails have had their parole or visiting rights withdrawn and some transferred to solitary confinement.

Human rights campaigners in Iran, speaking on condition of anonymity, say state repression has intensified in the runup to the polls on 14 June amid authorities' concern of a repeat of the anti-government protests that followed the 2009 election, which was described as a sedition led by the country's foreign enemies.

The crackdown comes as the Guardian launches an online database that catalogues the extent of repression by the Iranian authorities. The research shows there are 2,600 prisoners of conscience in the country, among them hundreds of activists, scores of students, dozens of women's rights campaigners, lawyers, artists, former politicians and many members of the country's religious and ethnic minorities.