Iranian Protesters Raped in Prison: Candidate

(NEWSER) - Iranian police beat demonstrators gathered in a Tehran cemetery to mourn victims of post-election violence, including Neda Agha-Soltan—the 26-year-old whose killing was witnessed by hundreds of thousands on YouTube. A witness told Reuters that some mourners were arrested. Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi defied threats from the Revolutionary Guards and tried to attend the ceremony, but he was forced back into his car minutes after arriving. More»

(NEWSER) - Iranian opposition candidates issued a statement today demanding an end to the “savage, shocking attacks” against protesters, and calling for the release of innocent people arrested in the government’s post-election crackdown, the New York Times reports. “The useless wave of arrests must end immediately,” read the statement, signed by Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and former president Mohammad Khatami. More»

Tehran formally detains opposition leaders, wives

(NEWSER) - Iran is cracking down on its opposition today, jailing prominent leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, reports the AP. The pair and their wives were arrested and taken to Tehran's Heshmatiyeh jail, according to reformist website Kaleme.com. The two have been under house arrest for two weeks for encouraging public protests in the wake of the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings. A semi-official news agency denied that the leaders had been jailed. More»

Internet access slows, foreign media warned on eve of annual event

(NEWSER) - An annual rally is shaping up as another battle between Iran's government and citizens, with Internet access in Tehran restricted and foreign reporters warned not even to go outside for the next 3 days. Dec. 7 is Students Day, marking the anniversary of the deaths of three student protesters in 1953, but this year's observation is likely to turn into another protest of the disputed June presidential election. More»

Tear gas, beatings mark 30th anniversary of US Embassy takeover

(AP) - Iranian security forces beat anti-government protesters with batons and fired tear gas today on the sidelines of state-sanctioned rallies in Tehran to mark the 30th anniversary of the US Embassy takeover. While pro-government demonstrators chanted "death to America" outside the former embassy, opposition marchers nearby cried "death to the dictator." Security forces swept through several hundred demonstrators in the city center, clubbing, kicking, and slapping protesters. More»