Death toll mounts following Iranian clashes

28 Dec 2009, 5:41 pm   -   Source: AFP
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Iranian reformist websites report that a nephew of opposition leader Mousavi was amongst the fatalities (Getty)

Iranian reformist websites report that a nephew of opposition leader Mousavi was amongst the fatalities (Getty)

Eight people were killed during anti-government protests in Iran, the state-run English language Press TV said quoting a senior security official.

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Eight people were killed during anti-government protests in Iran, the state-run English language Press TV said quoting a senior security official.
  
"An official with Supreme National Security Council told Press TV the death toll from Sunday's unrest in the country has reached eight," the channel said on its website.
  
It did not specify whether the victims were all killed in Tehran or also in other cities.
  
Iranian state television earlier gave a contradictory toll of at least 15 killed.


Iranian reformist websites said on Sunday that security forces killed a nephew of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, while police confirmed that five people had died in what turned into the bloodiest showdown between protesters and security forces in months.

The opposition said that those who died were killed when security forces opened fire after firing tear gas and using batons against protesters in central Tehran.

The crackdown followed stern warnings by the authorities that they would crush attempts to use processions linked to Sunday's commemorations for Ashura, Shi'ite Islam's holiest day, as a launch pad for protests.

Opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's June 12 re-election, which they say was massively rigged, have used a series of government-backed public events to mount protests, many of which have ended in clashes with police.

Reports of Yazdi arrest

In a further crackdown on the opposition, Ebrahim Yazdi, who served as foreign minister at the start of the 1979 Islamic revolution, was arrested at his home early on Monday, the Rahesabz website reported.

Yazdi, secretary general of the outlawed but tolerated Iran Freedom Movement, "was arrested at home and taken to an unknown place early Monday morning by security agents," the website said.

"He was summoned to an intelligence ministry office (last) Monday but did not go," it added, without elaborating.

Opposition supporters were preparing on Monday for the funerals of those killed, among them Seyed Ali Mousavi, the 35-year-old nephew of Mousavi, who according to reformist website Parlemannews was shot in his heart during the clashes.

Funerals have in the past sparked further anti-government protests.

Tehran police had on Sunday reported five people "suspiciously killed". "Specialists are trying to identify the suspect perpetrators of this incident," said a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency.

Police arrested more than 300 people, deputy police chief Ahmad Reza Radan told state television.

He confirmed four people had died but said one had fallen off a bridge and two had died in car accidents. The fourth had died of bullet wounds, but he denied that the security forces were responsible.

"As the police were not using firearms this is suspicious, and it is being investigated," he said.

The last known deaths during street protests in Tehran were on June 20. The opposition says that at least 72 people were killed in protests in June which rocked the pillars of the Islamic republic.

The authorities put the figure at 36, including members of the basij militia. Three protesters also died in custody after being beaten.

Renewed international criticism

Tehran's crackdown again drew international criticism.

The White House strongly condemned "violent and unjust suppression" of civilians.

The blunt statement contrasted with careful initial responses by Washington after election protests in June and came as the showdown with Iran over its controversial nuclear program reached a critical point.

The French foreign ministry criticised the police action against "simple protesters" and called for a political solution.

Italy's foreign ministry condemned the crackdown and called for political dialogue in the Islamic Republic "in a framework respecting human rights, among them in particular, the respect for life".
 

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