Hanged Iranian Prisoner's Relatives, Friends 'Detained'

RFE/RL, A nephew of Iranian political prisoner Ali Saremi is reported to have been detained a day after Saremi was hanged for collaborating with an exiled opposition group, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports.

Saremi's widow Mahin told RFE/RL today that Mohammad Saremi was detained in Tehran after he displayed a picture of his uncle on the door of the family home as a sign of mourning.

Saremi, 62, was hanged on December 28 after being found guilty of charges state media said included membership of the exiled opposition group Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization; "waging war against God"; and "propaganda activities against the sacred regime of Islamic Republic of Iran."

Saremi's widow said other relatives and friends who were detained on December 28 outside Tehran's Evin prison where Saremi was hanged had since been released, after giving a written pledge not to gather again in front of the prison.

Earlier, Saremi's brother Hassan told RFE/RL the family was not notified in advance of his impending execution.

"My brother was not a member of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization," Hassan Saremi said. He added that his brother was a "sympathizer" of the group who traveled to Camp Ashraf in Iraq, the group's base camp, only to visit his son.

Ali Saremi had been taken into custody several times since 1982, most recently in August 2007 after attending a gathering to mark the anniversary of the 1988 mass executions of political prisoners.