Iranian riot police clashed with hundreds of pro-reform protesters in central Tehran yesterday.
The police detained dozens of demonstrators, a witness said, in the latest unrest over last month’s disputed election.
The witness said demonstrators were chanting slogans against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the government, including: “Ahmadinejad resign! Resign! And “death to dictators!”
The witness said police beat protesters who had gathered in Tehran’s Haft-e Tir square in defiance of a ban on such demonstrations following the June 12th election. “There are hundreds of riot police and plainclothes , beating people who gathered to support Mousavi.”
The authorities reject opposition charges of vote rigging.
At least 20 died in post-election violence last month. Riot police and religious Basij militia eventually suppressed June’s protests.
Mr Mousavi, who came second in the election, and fourth-placed pro-reform cleric Mehdi Karoubi have continued to dispute the official result.
Iran’s police chief, Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, yesterday accused the opposition of “inciting sedition” after the election and said his force would act firmly to uphold the law, the official IRNA news agency reported. – (Reuters)