Tehran Prosecutor speaks out against opposition leaders

ILNA-Tehran Prosecutor-General Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi

Tehran Prosecutor-General, Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi criticized opposition leaders, MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, claiming that they are “agitating the atmosphere” by issuing statements. He also maintained those who believe that on February 11 people were brought in from provincial cities are “deluded.”

MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have both announced that the mass demonstration organized by the government on February 11 was “engineered.” The opposition maintains that the government bussed in government supporters from all around the country to make a show of force.

Yesterday Mousavi was quoted as saying; “You can’t engineer a demonstration and then rest assured that all is finished.”

In the past nine months, mass protests against the alleged election fraud that secured Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ‘s return to presidency have thrown Iran into deep turmoil. People have repeatedly staged demonstrations to express their protests to the government but on February 11, security forces went after protesters in full force not allowing them to gather.

Tehran’s Prosecutor-General criticized opposition leaders for “failing to come to their senses and get together with the people.”

He added that the opposition will not be allowed to stage demonstrations without an official permit. He added that the files in connection with “the disturbances” have been closed and if anyone tries to “vent some pent up anger” on the last Wednesday of the year, they will face serious confrontation.

Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi urged people “to control the events and not disturb people’s peace for the sake of having a good time.”

While some protesters have announced that the last Wednesday of the year may be an occasion to stage further demonstrations, MirHosein Mousavi announced that they do not wish to turn these cultural occasions into an opportunity to “harass” people.

Tehran’s Prosecutor-General also added that he is hopeful that post-election detainees will be released soon. He claimed; “Those people whose files have been completed and their charges are not serious” will gradually be released.

He went on to say that detainees who “express regret” will hopefully spend the New Year with their families.

Iranian new year arrives on Nowruz, first day of spring, March21.