Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been arrested for being a rabble-rouser. Iranian officials locked up the 61-year-old man a few days after Christmas when violent protests took hold in the country. People, young and old, poured onto the streets to demand a better life for themselves.
Ahmadinejad was nabbed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard because of comments he made during a public rally.
“Some of the current leaders live detached from the problems and concerns of the people, and do not know anything about the reality of society, ” Ahmadinejad said.
The Islamic world is sometimes startlingly brutal. In the realm of political discourse Ahmadinejad’s comments barely count as an insult. Yet officials were still willing to treat him as a criminal. He was at least saved the humiliation of being incarcerated in jail. He’s currently under house arrest.
Protests erupted in Iran at the end of last month
“The demonstrations erupted on Dec. 28 over the soaring cost of food and eventually turned into protests against the ruling clerics and the lack of government support for working-class Iranians,” the New York Post reports
“The discontent quickly spread across the country and led to the deaths of at least 22 people and the arrests of thousands, according to the government. But its opponents said the death toll is closer to 50.”
The demonstrations are the largest that has been seen in the country for over nine years. Officials say that they’ve quieted the unrest, but their assertion is belied by continued turbulence.
(Source: New York Post)