Iranian cleric says "rioters" should be executed

Posted by johnhouk on Jun 26, 2009
 Reuters writes about an Iranian Cleric that has proclaimed publicly that the instigators of the Iran protests (which many are calling Iran’s Green Revolution with Lebanon in mind) should be executed.

The story is a report on how Iran’s Guardian Council is working to validate the election and secure Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s election victory for another Presidential term.

Once you read the Reuters article, notice that a disclaimer is used early. Reuters wants its readers to be aware that Iran controls the information that goes out to Western news agencies and reporters. I am assuming this means that the control of facts is directly from Iran. As you read the Reuters article do what former Soviet citizens used to do: read between the lines to know what the facts mean.

JRH 6/26/09 (Hat Tip: Jihad Watch)
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Iranian cleric says "rioters" should be executed

By Parisa Hafezi
Fri Jun 26, 2009 10:31am EDT
REUTERS

TEHRAN (Reuters) - A hardline Iranian cleric on Friday called for the execution of "rioters," in a sign of the authorities' determination to stamp out opposition to the June 12 presidential election result.

(EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.)

Iran's top legislative body, the Guardian Council, said it had found no major violations in the election, which it called the "healthiest" vote since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The council had already rejected a call for the annulment of the vote by moderate former Prime Minister Mirhossein Mousavi, who has led mass protests since he was declared a distant second in the election behind incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"I want the judiciary to ... punish leading rioters firmly and without showing any mercy to teach everyone a lesson," Ahmad Khatami told worshippers at Tehran University.

Iranian state television said on Thursday eight Basij militiamen were killed by "rioters" during the protests. State media previously said 20 people were killed in the marches.

The Group of Eight foreign ministers, meeting in Italy, said they "deplored" the post-election violence and called on Iran to settle the crisis soon through democratic dialogue and peaceful means.

"The crisis should be settled soon through democratic dialogue and peaceful means on the basis of the rule of law," said a final draft statement by the G8 ministers. "We call on the Iranian government to guarantee that the will of the Iranian people is reflected in the electoral process."

HARSH PUNISHMENT

Iranian authorities have accused Mousavi of being responsible for the bloodshed, while the moderate former prime minister says the government is to blame.

Khatami, a member of the Assembly of Experts, said the judiciary should charge the leading "rioters" as being "mohareb" or one who wages war against God.

"They should be punished ruthlessly and savagely," he said. Under Iran's Islamic law, punishment for people convicted as mohareb is execution.

Mousavi's supporters plan to release thousands of balloons on Friday with the message: "Neda you will always remain in our hearts," in memory of Neda Agha Soltan, the young woman killed last week who has become an icon of the demonstrations.

Khatami said Neda was killed by the rioters themselves for propaganda purposes. "By watching the film, any wise person can understand that rioters killed her," he said.

Britain's Times newspaper quoted Dr. Arash Hejazi, an Iranian who appeared on Internet videos helping Neda, as echoing opposition charges the 26-year-old music student was killed by a government militiaman.

"She was just a person in the street who was against the injustice going on in her country, and for that she was murdered," he said.

The authorities have used a combination of warnings, arrests and the threat of police action to drive large demonstrations off Tehran's street since Saturday with small gatherings dispersed with tear gas and baton charges.

Russia, which along with China congratulated Ahmadinejad on his re-election earlier this month, said on Friday it was seriously concerned by the use of force in Iran.

"We naturally express our most serious concern about the use of force and the death of civilians," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying on the sidelines of the G8 meeting.

Russia was among G8 countries anxious not to slam the door on possible talks with Iran, the world's fifth largest oil exporter, over its disputed nuclear program.

"We sincerely hope that Iran will seize this opportunity to give diplomacy a chance to find a negotiated solution to the nuclear issue," the G8 statement said.

The 12-man Guardian Council's statement leaves little scope for more legal challenges to the election result, short of an attack on the position of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has expressed strong support for Ahmadinejad.

"The Guardian Council has almost finished reviewing defeated candidates' election complaints ... the reviews showed that the election was the healthiest since the revolution ... There were no major violations in the election," said Abbasali Kadkhodai, spokesman of the council.

Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a Mousavi ally, chairs the Assembly of Experts which has the constitutional power to depose Khamenei. The assembly has never tried to do so and Rasfanjani is seen as unlikely to take such a radical step.

Mousavi said he was determined to keep challenging the election results despite pressure to stop. He called on his supporters to continue "legal" protests and said restrictions on the opposition could lead to more violence.
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 Writing by Philippa Fletcher; Editing by Sophie Hares

Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.

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