WORLD> Middle East
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WORLD> Middle East
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Iranian police use force against rally
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-07-31 00:12 During the revolution, deaths of protesters prompted mourning protest marches after 40 days, which would often be answered by security forces attacking mourners. This caused new deaths and new marches in a cycle that helped fuel the street uprising. Behesht-e Zahra, where Thursday's gathering was held, also holds great symbolic weight. Many of those killed during the revolution were buried there, and the revolution's leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini has a gigantic mausoleum complex nearby. Martyears from Iran's 1980-1988 war with Iraq are also buried in the cemetery, and families frequently visit the graves. Soltan and at least 24 others killed in the crackdown are buried at the cemetery, according to rights groups trying to track the dead. Soltan's mother, Hajar Soltan, told the British Broadcasting Corp. on Thursday she is waiting for Neda's killer to be arrested and brought to justice. "Her death has been so painful. Words can never describe my true feelings. But knowing that the world cried for her, that has comforted me. I am proud of her. The world sees her as a symbol and that makes me happy," she said. Mousavi and Karroubi asked permission for the ceremony from the Interior Ministry earlier this week, saying the gathering would "be held without any speeches and will be limited to the reciting of the Quran and moments of silence." Interior Ministry official Mahmoud Abbaszadeh Meshkini was quoted by the state IRNA news agency as saying Wednesday the ministry has not issued "any permission for any gathering." "So far, it's unprecedented that someone asks permission for a memorial service from the Interior Ministry," Meshkini said, adding sarcastically: "Unless the applicant has other particular political intentions." Massive protests and deadly clashes erupted in the days and weeks after Mousavi claimed that he won the vote and Ahmadinejad's victory was fraudulent. Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard and its allied Basij militia have adopted a zero-tolerance policy, but demonstrators have still managed to hold several, smaller protests in recent weeks. The government announced on Wednesday that first trials of detained opposition supporters will begin Saturday, with the prosecution of around 20 protesters. They also include some accused of sending images of the unrest to the media while top pro-reform politicians will be tried later for allegedly ordering riots. The opposition has said detainees were tortured to extract false confessions for the courts.
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