Iran Sentences 3 To Death In Post-Election Mass Opposition Trial: Via HuffingtonPost.com

TEHRAN, Iran — Three defendants in Iran's mass trial of opposition figures accused of fueling the country's postelection unrest have been sentenced to death, an Iranian news agency reported Saturday.

Two of them were convicted of membership in a monarchist group seeking to topple Iran's Islamic Republic and restore a monarchy, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported, quoting judiciary official Zahed Bashiri Rad.

The third defendant was convicted of having ties to a terrorist group for his alleged links to the People's Mujahedeen, an armed opposition group, ISNA quoted Rad as saying.

The three are the first defendants to be sentenced to death since the trial began in August.
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Iran:Ayatollah Khamenei's Speech Gives Legitimacy to Police Brutality, Charges Amnesty International: Via Amnesty International.

Human Rights Organization Urges Iranian Authorities to Protect Right to Freedom of Assembly, Freedom of Speech

Contact: AIUSA media office, 202-544-0200 x302, lspann@aiusa.org

(Washington) -- This morning’s speech by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, indicates the authorities’ readiness to launch violent crackdowns if people continue to protest which may cause a widespread loss of life, Amnesty International said today.

"We are extremely disturbed at statements made by Ayatollah Khamenei which seem to give the green light to security forces to violently handle protesters exercising their right to demonstrate and express their views," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa program.

"If large numbers of people take to the street in protests in the next couple of days, we fear that they will face arbitrary arrest and excessive use of force, as has happened in recent days, particularly as permission for a demonstration to be held in Tehran on Saturday, June 20, has been denied."
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