Graveside protest planned in Iran
July 30, 2009
Neda Agha Soltan was shot in the chest during a protest in Tehran
Iranian opposition leaders say they will attend ceremonies to honour those killed in violence which followed the country’s disputed election result.
They plan to join a gathering at the graveside of a young woman whose killing during protests became a potent symbol of post-election unrest.
Authorities refused a request to hold a mourning ceremony at a Tehran mosque.
Opposition supporters allege the 12 June election results were rigged in favour of President Ahmadinejad.
Twenty-seven year-old Neda Agha Soltan was shot dead on 20 June as she watched protests from the sidelines of the demonstration.
Her death - one of 10 that day - was filmed on a mobile phone and broadcast around the world.
Protest ban
Shia Muslims traditionally mark 40 days after a death in a ceremony called the Arbayeen.
Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi had asked the interior ministry for permission to hold a memorial service in Tehran’s Mosalla mosque, an aide to Mr Mousavi said.
When permission was refused, a statement on the website of Mr Karroubi’s political party said they would instead visit the graves of protesters at a cemetery south of Tehran on Thursday.
“The offices of Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi announce that the two will go to the graves of those dead in the recent incidents along with their families and pay their respects,” it said.
Correspondents say a large number of people are expected to go to the cemetery in support of the two leaders.
Iranian authorities have banned all opposition protests following post-election violence.
On Tuesday, officials said about 140 people detained during the protests had been released from Evin prison.
But about 200 others, accused of more serious crimes, remain in jail.
Bowing to pressure about the treatment of detainees - some of whom are reported to have died in prison - officials said that more prisoners accused of minor offences would be released on Friday.
However, 20 people have been charged with more serious offences, including bombings, carrying weapons and attacking security forces.
Tehran’s public prosecutor’s office has announced that the first trials of “rioters” will begin on Saturday, the official Iranian news agency IRNA reported.
US pressure
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she deplored the way the Iranian government was treating those it had imprisoned after the violence and urged authorities to release political detainees.
She said reports of the continuing detention and abuse of political prisoners suggested that Iran’s political situation had yet to be resolved.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected in last month’s elections, but opposition leaders say the results were fixed.
Anger at the outcome led to the largest mass protests seen in Iran since the 1979 revolution which brought the current Islamic regime to power.
Mr Ahmadinejad is to be officially approved as Iranian president on 3 August.
Source: bbc.co.uk/
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