Five foreigners detained during February 11 rallies in Iran

Five foreigners, including a French national, a Japanese reporter and two Russians, were detained during the February 11 rallies marking the anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, a prosecutor said on Wednesday. Three of them were later released, but the case of one of the Russians and that of a detained Afghan national had been handed over to the judiciary, prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi told the ISNA news agency. He did not give any names.
Iran has accused its Western enemies of stoking street unrest that erupted after the Islamic Republic's disputed election in June, which plunged the country into its deepest internal crisis since the revolution three decades ago. Jafari Dolatabadi said the five were detained during the rallies, without making clear if they were all held in Tehran. "(The case of) one Afghan was handed over to the judiciary because of taking part in an illegal gathering (in western Tehran) ... on the sideline of the main rallies," he said, apparently referring to an opposition rally.