Hurriyet DailyNews.com (Turquie) : "Defeated Iranian pres candidate appeals vote amid protests, arrests"

Defeated Iranian pres candidate appeals vote amid protests, arrests

ISTANBUL - Defeated presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi formally appealed against Iran's election result on Sunday to the legislative body, the Guardian Council, a statement on his website said, Reuters reported on Sunday. (UPDATED)

 

"Today, I have submitted my official formal request to the council to cancel the election result," Mousavi said in the statement. "I urge you Iranian nation to continue your nationwide protests in a peaceful and legal way."

ARRESTS AND PROTESTS

More than 100 reformists and at least 60 people accused of orchestrating post-election riots in Tehran have been arrested after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed victory in Saturday’s vote.

Mohammad Reza Khatami, the brother of former president Mohammad Khatami, was among those arrested on Saturday night, leading reformist Mohammad Ali Abtahi told Reuters on Sunday.

 

A judiciary spokesman said they had not been arrested but that they were summoned and "warned not to increase tension". They were later released, he said.

But Abtahi, a former vice president, told Reuters, "They were taken from their homes last night". He said more arrests were expected.

The arrested reformists were members of Iran's leading reformist party Mosharekat.  

At least 60 people accused of orchestrating post-election riots in Tehran have also been arrested, AFP reported the city’s deputy police chief Ahmad Reza Radan as telling the official news agency IRNA on Sunday.

Radan also said more arrests will be made soon.

Thousands of people clashed with police on Saturday after the disputed election victory of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sparked the biggest protests in Tehran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Iranians to respect Ahmadinejad's victory in a presidential election that his closest challenger described as a "dangerous charade".