Mousavi Nephew Among Several Dead in Iran
Monday, December 28, 2009 at 12:23 pm
TEHRAN: Security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters in the Iranian capital Sunday, killing at least five people.
The dead included a nephew of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi.
Authorities deny reports that some protesters were shot dead. Police, who denied using firearms, said dozens of officers were injured and more than 300 protesters were arrested.
“So far there have been no reports of killings and no one has been killed up to now,” Tehran police chief Azizollah Rajabzadeh told the Iranian media.
Witnesses said another victim was an elderly man who had a gunshot wound to the forehead. He was seen being carried away by opposition supporters.
A video posted to YouTube shows protesters setting garbage bins on fire and facing off with police in Tehran.
Journalists are banned from covering opposition protests in the country and there is no way to independently confirm what happened.
Thousands of opposition supporters were reported to be on the streets, chanting “Death to the dictator,” a reference to hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and protesting the disputed June election which supporters say reformist candidates won.
Foreign media reported that police were using tear gas to clear the streets.
The demonstration coincided with observance of the holy day Ashoura, commemorating the seventh-century death in battle of one of Shia Islam’s most beloved saints, Imam Hussein — a time when many Iranians take part in traditional street parades.
The Obama administration today “strongly” condemned the crackdown by Iranian security forces on protesters in Tehran that left at least five people dead.
The deaths and more than 300 arrests were reported in a police statement carried by the state-run news agency.
“We strongly condemn the violent and unjust suppression of civilians in Iran seeking to exercise their universal rights,” National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said in a statement. “Governing through fear and violence is never just.”
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