Iranian police arrest 35 protestors

Sep 20, 2009, 12:16 GMT

Tehran - Iranian police arrested 35 protestors during an anti-government rally in Tehran, the ISNA news agency reported Sunday.

Thousands of opposition supporters took advantage of an official anti-Israel demonstration on Friday to stage renewed protests against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his government - despite a heavy deployment of police.

Police and the Revolutionary Guards had warned that they would deal harshly with protestors who misused the anti-Israel rally for airing internal political grievances.

Police spokesman Azizollah Rajabzadeh told ISNA that 35 protestors were arrested after they threw stones at officers and disrupted public order.

According to witnesses, supporters of opposition leader Mir- Hossein Moussavi shouted, 'Death to the dictator,' 'Freedom, freedom,' and 'Don't be afraid, we are all together.'

Police broke up the demonstration with tear gas.

The four man opposition leaders - Moussavi, former parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi and the two ex-presidents Mohammad Khatami and Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani - attended Friday's rally.

Ahmadinejad supporters attacked both Moussavi and Khatami, forcing them to leave the venue.

According to witnesses, a man attacked Khatami with a knife but bodyguards and supporters protected the moderate cleric from injury.

Friday's protests were the first since mid-July by the opposition, which accused the government of fraud in the June 12 election that gave Ahmadinejad a second term.

State television criticised Western media focus on anti- Ahmadinejad protests, rather than the 'millions' it said protested against Israel and in favour of the Palestinians.

In an editorial, IRNA also harshly criticized some of the foreign media for having ignored the main cause of the rally and focusing on '50 or 60' protestors.