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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Iranian Police Clash With Protesters Over Banned Newspaper: Via Voice of America.

Iranian police clashed with protesters who gathered Monday outside the Tehran office of a reformist newspaper, which was recently banned by authorities.

Witnesses say police dispersed dozens of opposition supporters who shouted anti-government slogans outside the office of the National Trust (Etemad Melli), the newspaper of former presidential candidate Mehdi Karoubi. Some demonstrators were reportedly arrested.

Aides close to Karoubi say Iran's judiciary ordered a ban on the daily Sunday, after it printed his claims that some election protesters were raped while in custody.
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Protests as Iran's Ahmadinejad sworn in as president: Via Reuters.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn in as Iran's president on Wednesday in a ceremony boycotted by reformist leaders and parliamentarians and marred by street protests over his victory.

The 53-year-old hard-liner took his oath of office nearly eight weeks after a disputed election that unleashed the worst unrest since the 1979 Islamic revolution and divided the political and clerical elite.

Ahmadinejad said Iran wanted peaceful coexistence with the world but would resist any "bullying" power.

"Internationally, we seek peace and security. But because we want this for all of humanity, we oppose injustice, aggression and the high-handedness of some countries," he said.

Former presidents Mohammad Khatami and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who support Mousavi, boycotted the inauguration. The official IRNA news agency said most of parliament's 70 reformist legislators also stayed away.

Riot police were out in force in nearby streets. Witnesses said hundreds of supporters of Ahmadinejad's main political rival, Mirhossein Mousavi, gathered near parliament.

"I was beaten by police who wanted to disperse protesters," said a witness, who declined to give her name.
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Videos from Aug 5, 2009 – Tehran Bureau: Via Tehran Bureau.

Wednesday August 5 2009 is Ahmadinejad swearing in ceremony

A collection of videos theoretically from August 5th. Most are rather short.

Read Original Article:(Via Tehran Bureau.)
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Iranians defy authorities to mourn those slain in the unrest: Via Los Angeles Times.

Thousands flood a Tehran cemetery on the 40th day since the killing of Neda Agha-Soltan. Their defiance sets the stage for protests next week, when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is to be sworn in.

Reporting from Tehran and Beirut -- Protesters swarmed Tehran's main cemetery and fanned out across a large swath of the capital Thursday, defying truncheons and tear gas to publicly mourn those killed during weeks of unrest, including a young woman whose death shocked people around the world.

The protests marked the 40th day since the shooting of Neda Agha-Soltan was captured on video and posted on the Internet. For Shiite Muslims, the 40th day has religious importance, often an occasion for an outpouring of emotion and grief.
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