Source:
APIran sentences 5 to death for causing turmoil after election
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
By Nasser Karimi, The Associated Press
TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran has sentenced five defendants to death in a mass trial of opposition figures accused of fomenting the unrest that followed the disputed June presidential election, state television reported yesterday.
The five apparently include three death sentences announced last month. None of the five have been identified by Iranian authorities.
Iran began the mass trial in August of more than 100 prominent opposition figures and activists, accusing them of a range of charges from rioting to spying and plotting what Iran's clerical rulers have depicted as a foreign-backed plot to oust them from power.
In the weeks following the June 12 election, the opposition led massive street protests that drew hundreds of thousands, and supporters clashed with security forces. They claimed fraud after election authorities declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner of a second term, and their anger unleashed the most serious internal unrest in Iran in the 30 years since the Islamic Revolution.
A harsh crackdown ended the demonstrations, and a security sweep went far beyond rounding up just protesters on the streets -- snatching up rights activists and journalists as well as pro-reform politicians. Rights groups and opposition figures in Iran have criticized the court proceedings, calling them a "show trial" and saying confessions are coerced.
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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1014335-82.stm
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