Iran detains outspoken lawyer calling for free elections

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian media is reporting that authorities have detained a human rights lawyer who planned a sit-in protest in front of parliament.

The Sunday report by the daily Arman says police detained Ghasem Sholeh-Saadi after he appeared outside parliament on Saturday in an "illegal gathering."

A day earlier and on his Instagram account, Sholeh-Saadi posted that he will stage a sit-in protest in front of parliament to demand free elections.

Sholeh-Saadi, 64 and a former Iranian lawmaker in late 1980s, was taken to a police station.

Famous for his criticism of the establishment, Sholeh-Saadi was barred from running in the presidential elections in 2017.

A 12-member constitutional watchdog, half of them clerics, vets all nominees intending to run for parliamentary and presidential elections.