Website boss detained over Khomeini grandson attack

TEHRAN, Feb 25 (Reuters) - A court detained the head of a banned conservative-run Web site which had accused a grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of betraying the legacy of the founder of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The official IRNA news agency said the Nosazi (Renovation) Web site had attacked Hassan Khomeini for opposing the decision by hardline vetting bodies to strike leading moderates from the list of candidates for March 14 parliamentary elections.

Tehran General Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi banned the Web site on Feb. 14 for "poisoning the election atmosphere" after complaints by politicians and ordinary Iranians.

The Web site's managing director was summoned to court by a public prosecutor and ordered remanded in custody after a hearing into the case.

"Hossein Nobakhtian was arrested and transferred to Tehran's Evin prison on Monday morning," IRNA said.

In one article, the Nosazi Web site said Khomeini was failing to follow his late grandfather's path and accused him of backing "wealthy moderate politicians".

"We wish we also had a BMW car...and breathed the posh northern Tehran weather...and had the pleasure of only observing oppressed people's pain like you do," it said in an article addressed to Khomeini.

A respected figure in Iran, Hassan Khomeini told a gathering of reformists earlier this month that the large number of disqualifications was "a regrettable move."

"People can not be prevented from deciding about their future," he said.

Elections to Iran's 290-seat parliament, which is currently dominated by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's supporters, are a test of the hardline president's popularity.

Ahmadinejad, best known in the West for his outbursts against Israel and robust defence of Iran's nuclear programme, came to power in 2005 vowing to share out Iran's oil wealth more fairly. But he has also failed to curb inflation, although it fell slightly in January to 19.2 percent, year-on-year.

More than 2,000 out of 7,200 registered candidates were initially barred by government committees, prompting complaints by moderates that included former President Mohammad Khatami, as well as by some of Ahmadinejad's backers.

The conservative-run Guardian Council, which has prevented hundreds of reformists running in past votes, later reinstated more than 1,000 candidates. (Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Jon Boyle)