Around 100 on trial after Iran post-election riots

This photo, taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the Associated Press outside Iran shows an Iranian anti-riot police raising his baton to disperse protestors at an opposition rally at the Behesht-i-Zahra cemetery, just outside Tehran, Iran, July 30, 2009. photo by (News Alart)

TEHRAN: Around 100 people accused of rioting after the disputed re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were put on trial in a Tehran revolutionary court on Saturday, the Fars news agency said.

Among those in the dock were prominent reformists and supporters of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi and aides of former reformist president Mohammad Khatami.

The leading reformists on trial were Behzad Nabavi, a top member of the Islamic Republic Mujahedeen Organisation, Mohammad Atrianfar, prominent member of Executives of Construction, and Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a member of the Assembly of Combatant Clerics.

Nabavi was also the deputy speaker of parliament during the Khatami government, while Abtahi was vice president in charge of parliamentary affairs during Khatami's tenure.

Another top accused was Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, Khatami's former spokesman from 1997 to 2005.