FEELING THE HEAT:

Iranian dissident freed from jail (BBC, 3/18/06)

Iran's most prominent dissident journalist Akbar Ganji has been freed from jail after six years.

Ganji was jailed in 2001 for writing articles in which he linked senior officials to the murder of dissidents.

Correspondents say he is a hero to Iran's reformists for standing up to hardliners, and many world leaders have called for his release. [...]

The BBC's Frances Harrison in Tehran says many Iranians thought Ganji, 46, would never be freed from jail, even though his sentence was due to end.

The release comes days before the United Nations Security Council is due to discuss Iran's stand-off with Western nations over the country's nuclear programme. [...]

His imprisonment came amid a media crackdown by hardliners as the then reformist President Mohammad Khatami appeared to be threatening their power.