By VOA News
Former Iranian president and leading reformist
Mohammad Khatami says the outcome of Iran's disputed presidential election is a
"coup" against democracy. Khatami also accused Iran's government of suppressing
the rights of people to protest the election results. His statement
Wednesday comes two days after Iran's powerful Guardian Council upheld the
re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
|
Mohammad Khatami |
Defeated presidential candidates Mir Hossein
Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi also criticized the election outcome Wednesday,
calling the government led by Mr. Ahmadinejad "illegitimate."
|
Mir Hossein Mousavi |
In a statement on his Web site, Mousavi urged his
supporters to keep fighting for the rights of the people. He also called for
press freedom, election reforms and the release of those detained during
post-election protests. Mousavi and Karroubi say the June 12 vote was rigged.
Iran stopped publication Wednesday of a reformist newspaper allied with Karroubi
after he vowed to continue his fight against the election outcome.
|
Mehdi Karrubi |
Iran's police chief says 20 people were killed
and more than 1,000 arrested during the large protests following the election.
Human rights groups have put the death toll from post-election unrest much
higher.
The Iranian news agency Fars quoted Ismail Ahmadi-Moghaddam on Wednesday as
saying that most of those detained have been released and the rest are being
referred to the public and revolutionary courts in Tehran.
There are conflicting reports of how many of the nine local British embassy
staff are still in detention in Iran, after being arrested for allegedly playing
a role in the unrest. Iranian state-run Press TV said Wednesday one local staff
member of the embassy remains in custody.
In London, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown reiterated "deep disappointment"
at Iran's recent behavior, including the arrests of British embassy staff. He
called the action "unjustified" and said it is not acceptable that some in Iran
are trying to use Britain "as an explanation for the legitimate Iranian voices
calling for democracy."
European Union officials on Thursday are expected to debate a British proposal
for all 27 member states to pull their envoys from Iran.
Fars quoted Iran's top military commander, Major-General Hassan Firouzabadi as
saying the EU's interference in post-election unrest has jeopardized talks on
Iran's disputed nuclear program.
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose government took over the
European Union presidency, said Wednesday the EU should support those in favor
of democracy in Iran, but should be careful not to stir up tension inside the
country.
Some information for
this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
