Friends and relatives bury a victim of the Monday violence at Azadi square during a ceremony at the Behesht Zahra cemetery south of Tehran. (Photo: Reuters/Fars News)

Iranians Mourn Victims Of Tehran Demonstrations

Tehran. Tens of thousands of supporters of defeated presidential candidate Mir Hussein Moussavi rallied in Tehran on Thursday to mourn those killed in mass demonstrations against what he says was a rigged election.

Chanting “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is greatest,” and dressed in black, they gathered in Imam Khomeini Square, a day after Moussavi called on supporters to gather in mosques or at peaceful rallies to show solidarity with the victims and their families.

Moussavi, who says last week’s election was rigged in favor of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, addressed people in the crowd with a loudspeaker.

Demonstrators held photographs of the victims, some showing bloodied faces, apparently taken after they died.

“Our martyred brothers we will take back your votes,” read one placard in the crowd. “Why did you kill our brothers?” read another.

Other banners told protesters to stay home on Friday, when Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is due to lead prayers at Tehran University, but to gather for a rally on Saturday.

Days of public fury over the disputed election led Iran’s top legislative body, the Guardian Council, to invite Moussavi and the two other candidates beaten by Ahmadinejad to discuss their complaints on Saturday.

A spokesman for the Guardian Council said it had begun “careful examination” of 646 complaints submitted after the June 12 vote. Complaints include pressure on voters to support a particular candidate and the barring of candidates’ representatives from polling stations.

Council spokesman Abbasali Kadkhodai said Moussavi and fellow candidates Mehdi Karoubi and Mohsen Rezaie could raise their problems at the meeting.

Reuters

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