Project on Middle East Democracy

Project on Middle East Democracy
The POMED Wire


Mourning and Clashes in Tehran

July 30th, 2009 by Max

Today, the 40-day anniversary of the death of Neda Agha-Soltan–who has become the poster child of the Iranian opposition movement–was marked by large-scale protests in Tehran. Opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi attempted to address the crowd but was quickly surrounded by police and sent on his way.

Thousands of mourners descended on the site of Agha-Soltan’s grave. Despite a buildup of security forces, they proved a poor match for a “crowd of thousands.” Police fired tear gas and used batons to disperse mourners and other protesters but were, in many cases, overwhelmed.

Meanwhile, Agha-Soltan’s mother was interviewed by the BBC’s Hajar Rostami Motlagh, in which she says that although her daughter was not a political person, she was was nevertheless ”passionate about freedom.“ In the interview Agha-Soltan’s mother also discussed her meeting with Mousavi’s fellow opposition candidate, Mehdi Karroubi.


Posted in Iran |

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