Tehran: The trial of 16 opposition protesters charged over unrest connected with Iran's disputed June presidential election began on Saturday, as the Revolutionary Guards warned against further demonstrations.
Five defendants are charged with the capital offence of ‘moharebeh' (waging war against God) while the remaining are accused of public order and national security offences, a court website said.
All of the accused were arrested after eight people were killed in clashes between opposition supporters and security forces on Ashura, the holy Shi'ite day of ritual mourning, on December 27.
ISNA quoted the deputy Tehran prosecutor as saying that of the 16, one was a member of the outlawed Baha'i faith, one was a communist and some belonged to the "counter-revolutionary" Mujahideen Khalq Organisation.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards yesterday warned opposition groups not to stage protests on February 11, the anniversary of the 1979 revolution that created the Islamic republic.
"Under no conditions will we let the ‘green movement' show up ... if a minority wants to do something, it will be firmly confronted by us," Brigadier-General Hussain Hamedani, commander of Tehran Revolutionary Guards, was quoted as saying by the semi-official student news agency ISNA.
Opposition websites have been urging people to stage more anti-government rallies on the day.
On Friday, a conservative cleric urged judicial authorities to execute more opposition protesters.
Rafsanjani's call
On Saturday, former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who heads the state Expediency Council, said rallies on February 11 should be peaceful.
"All groups and parties in Iran must try to make sure that the rallies marking the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic revolution in Iran on February 11 are held with calm and grandeur," he said, according to news agency ILNA.
"Any confrontation and violence will be in line with what the enemies want," Rafsanjani said.
