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Neda Soltan: Iranian Police Beat Protesters at Memorial

by Scott Wu | July 30, 2009 at 03:45 pm

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Crowd gathered around the grave of Neda Soltan in memory of the lost of the 27 year-old student who was shot dead at a protest on June 20th. Police beat hundreds who went to the memorial and used tear gas to disperse the crowd. The opposition leader Mousavi was barred from joining the memorial by police.

"Neda is alive, Ahmadinejad is dead," some of those at the ceremony chanted, referring to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who the opposition claims won the June 12 election by fraud. Witnesses said plainclothes forces charged at them with batons and tear gas, some of them chanting, "Death to those who are against the supreme leader." State television also reported that police used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.

Tens of thousands gathered on streets of Tehran in memory of Neda Soltan. Tear gas was used to stop the public demonstration, and the protest was the biggest since the initial after election unrest. There was unconfirmed reports saying one man was killed.

"I don't understand the meaning of dispatching police forces and security agents to surround those who want to mourn," said Karoubi. "Neda was an innocent girl who was not even active politically," said one mourner. "I'm relieved to see Mousavi here. He's a brave guy who has showed that he's not going to step back and is with his own people. He is our real president."

Ahmadinejad draws criticism not only from the opposition but also from top clerics and conservative figures over prison abuse.

Top clerics and conservative figures have criticised the leadership over prison abuses, including detainee deaths and the brutal beatings of protesters. The bodies of several young protesters have been turned over to their families in recent weeks, all showing signs of beatings or other abuse while in custody, say pro-opposition websites, citing accounts from relatives.

Among them was the son of a prominent conservative, which has brought a wave of criticism from the government's own supporters.