Iranian security forces rounding up thousands in mass arrest campaign, say sources

Plainclothes Iranian security forces have rounded up thousands of people in a campaign of mass arrests and intimidation to deter further protests after crushing the bloodiest unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, sources tell Reuters.

Within days of stifling the protests, plainclothes security forces launched a campaign of widespread arrests accompanied by an intensified street presence based around checkpoints, according to five activists who spoke on condition of anonymity from inside Iran.

They say detainees have been placed in secret lockups.

“They are arresting everyone,” one of the activists says. “No one knows where they are being taken or where they are being held. With these arrests and threats, they are trying to inject fear into society.”

Similar accounts are given to Reuters by lawyers, medics, witnesses and two Iranian officials speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid retribution by security services.

They say the roundups appear aimed at preventing any serious revival of protests by spreading fear just as the clerical establishment faces rising external pressure.