Tens of thousands mourn Iranians killed in protests

Iranians mourn with mass rally
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By Parisa Hafezi and Hossein Jaseb
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Iranians, wearing black and carrying candles, marched on Thursday to mourn those killed in mass protests against a presidential election they and defeated candidate Mirhossein Mousavi say was rigged.
(EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.)
Chanting "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest), they massed in downtown Imam Khomeini Square, responding to Mousavi's call for people to gather in mosques or at peaceful rallies to show solidarity with the victims and their families.
Days of public fury over the disputed election led Iran's top legislative body, the Guardian Council, to invite Mousavi and the two other candidates beaten by hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to discuss their complaints on Saturday.
The election has provoked Iran's biggest and most violent demonstrations since the 1979 Islamic revolution, rocking the world's fifth biggest oil exporter which is also caught up in a dispute with the West over its nuclear program.
Iranian state media has reported seven or eight people killed in protests since the election results were published on June 13. Scores of reformists have been arrested across the country and authorities have cracked down on both foreign and domestic media.
Demonstrators held photographs of those killed, some showing bloodied faces, apparently taken after they died.
"Our martyred brothers we will take back your votes," read one placard. "Why did you kill our brothers?" said another.
Mousavi, a moderate who advocates better ties with the West, addressed people in the crowd with a loudspeaker. He wore a black shirt and suit, witnesses said.
Other banners told protesters to stay home on Friday, when Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is due to lead prayers in Tehran, but to gather again the next day in the capital.
Security agents detained opposition politician Ebrahim Yazdi while he was in hospital, an ally of his said. Yazdi heads the banned Freedom Movement and was foreign minister in Iran's first government after the revolution.
ELECTION BOMB PLOT
A spokesman for the Guardian Council said it had begun "careful examination" of 646 complaints submitted after the June 12 vote. Objections include a shortage of ballot papers, pressure on voters to support a particular candidate, and the barring of candidates' representatives from polling stations.
Ahmadinejad was declared winner with nearly 63 percent of the vote against 34 percent for his closest rival, Mousavi.
Mousavi wants the vote annulled and held again. The council has said it is ready only to recount disputed ballot boxes. Continued...
Source: Reuters