Iranian philosopher Jahanbegloo arrested - cleric

TEHRAN, May 3 (Reuters) Iranian philosopher and writer Ramin Jahanbegloo has been arrested on unspecified charges, liberal cleric Mohsen Kadivar said today.

''Unfortunately today, international press day, we are celebrating when one of Iran's intellectuals and journalists Ramin Jahanbegloo is under arrest,'' Kadivar told a gathering at the Association of Iranian Journalists.

''It has not been announced why (Jahanbegloo was arrested) but we hope the day will come when no-one is held ... before being tried by an open court,'' added Kadivar, himself jailed in the past for his outspoken criticism of Iran's clerical leaders.

Sources close to Jahanbegloo, who also has Canadian citizenship, confirmed his arrest.

Rights groups frequently lambaste Iran for detaining pro-reform writers, journalists and intellectuals without due legal process.

Jahanbegloo, educated at the Sorbonne in Paris and at Harvard University, has written on subjects such as Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi and liberal political philosopher Isaiah Berlin.

Head of the Department for Contemporary Studies at the Cultural Research Bureau in Tehran, he has also lectured on the prospects for democracy in Iran and on whether the Islamic state can engage with the West.

REUTERS KD KP1943