The Human Rights Watch on Sunday said Iran's post-election unrest is a "full-blown human rights crisis," and called on Teheran to free government critics detained during the crackdown. In a report published Sunday, the New York-based watchdog said the "systematic and brutal targeting" of demonstrators and dissidents by security forces after the June presidential elections was an attempt "to silence voices of dissent." Thousands of peaceful protesters, including students, lawyers and prominent human rights activists have been detained in a crackdown that has turned into "a human rights disaster," the watchdog said in its annual report on human rights violations and abuses worldwide. The chapter on Iran - one of 15 Middle Eastern countries reviewed by the group - was released in Dubai on Sunday.
(photo credit: The Jerusalem Post)