BBC: Iran's leading female poet has told the BBC she has been barred from leaving the country by the government.
Simin Behbahani, 82, said she was about to fly to France when her passport was confiscated at Tehran airport.
The human rights activist has written poems in support of the opposition campaign against disputed elections in June last year.
Last week Iran detained international award winning film director Jafar Panahi and members of his family.
"The moment I was due to get on the plane, a man came and took my passport away from me and said that I was banned from going abroad," she told the BBC's Persian service.
They questioned her for hours asking questions and then ordered her to appear before a court, she said.
She was on her way to Paris to present a paper on feminism and read a poem at conference. Election challenge >>> | Monday, March 08, 2010
