Mullahs vs. students
The week's news at a glance.
Tehran
Iranian court officials arrested five leaders of student protests this week, spraying tear gas at them and bundling them into cars. The five had been rallying thousands of students every day for two weeks to protest the death sentence imposed on Hashem Aghajari, a popular professor. Aghajari was charged with heresy for urging students to interpret the Koran for themselves, instead of blindly following hard-line clerics. Moderate politicians asked the students to quiet down after the nation’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, threatened a crackdown.“Those who accuse the Islamic system of despotism and being against freedom are either the enemy or have been deceived by the enemy,” said Khamenei. Three years ago, similar demonstrations were violently suppressed, and the ringleaders are serving long jail sentences.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
An ingredient in Coca-Cola may be funding Sudan's war
Under the Radar Global trade in gum arabic centres on the African nation – and proceeds bankroll conflict between the army and paramilitary rebels
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Homes for multi-generational families
Feature Featuring a 1900 Jacobean-style mansion in Massachusetts and a 22.5-acre compound in California
By The Week US Published
-
The Week contest: Foot PSA
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published