Iran executes two for post-election violence
TEHRAN. January 29. KAZINFORM. Iran hanged two men convicted in the wake of the unrest that erupted after last year's disputed election, the ISNA news agency reported on Thursday; Kazinform refers to Arab News.
The two men executed at dawn were charged with trying to overthrow the government. The June presidential election was followed by huge opposition rallies, plunging Iran into its deepest internal crisis since the 1979 revolution.
The opposition says the vote was rigged to secure Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election as the president. The authorities deny it.
Eight people were killed in clashes between opposition supporters and security forces on Dec. 27.
It named them as Mohammad Reza Alizamani and Arash Rahmanipour. The lawyer for Rahmanipour, 19, said he was detained before the election. She said the charges were political and the verdict "illegal and unjust."
"An execution with this speed and rush has only one explanation ... the government is trying to prevent the expansion of the current (opposition) movement through the spread of fear and intimidation," lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh said; Kazinform cites Arab News. See www.arabnews.com for full version.