Iran forces fire tear gas at protesters

Iran forces fire tear gas at protesters

2011-03-01 23:45:41 GMT+7 (ICT)

TEHRAN (BNO NEWS) -- Iran's security forces on Tuesday fired tear gas at opposition supporters during demonstrations in Tehran.

The opposition website Sahamnews said people gathered in the capital to protest the imprisonment of opposition leaders Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi.

Security forces and plainclothes security people tried to disperse the crowd with tear gas and riot batons, the opposition Kaleme website said.

The government, however, denied the reports about the detention of the leaders and their wives, and said that members of the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) fabricated and released the information in a move to stir unrests in Iran, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.

Earlier this month, the two leaders, along with their wives, were removed to a "safe house" which officials said was for their own protection, although they were not officially arrested. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran condemned the move, calling it an enforced disappearance under international law.

Both Mousavi and Karroubi have called for demonstrations in Iran after the recent uprisings in Tunisia and in Egypt. On February 14, two protesters were killed when thousands of anti-government protesters clashed with security forces. Then, on February 20, one person was killed after security forces opened fire on protesters denouncing the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The semi-official Fars News Agency reported that "several groups of seditionists staged riots" on February 14, and that "rioters" opened fire at the public and police troops, killing two people. It added that Tehran's police did not reciprocate the gunfire.

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