Opposition political activists and protesters are in court in Tehran Saturday on charges of rioting and conspiring against the ruling system in the country's first trial following the disputed presidential election, Iran's state media reported. The trial underlines the government's efforts to bring to a close anti-government demonstrations that have persisted since the disputed June 12 presidential elections. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians marched in days of street protests after the election, denouncing official results that declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner. Iran's opposition maintains Ahmadinejad stole the vote from opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi by engaging in massive fraud, but its demonstrations have been ruthlessly suppressed leaving hundreds, possibly more, in prison. The defendants faced charges that included attacking military and government buildings, having links with armed opposition groups and conspiring against the ruling system, Iran's official news agency, IRNA, reported. IRNA did not give information about how many defendants were at court, but the semiofficial Fars news agency said more than 100 defendants were present. Iran media had initially reported that the first trial would only include about 20 defendants. Among the defendants are several prominent reformist opposition activists including former vice president Mohammad Ali Abtahi, former government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, former vice speaker of parliament Behzad Nabavi, former deputy foreign minister Mohsen Aminzadeh and leader of the biggest reformist party, the Islamic Iran Participation Front, Mohsen Mirdamadi. Pictures from the courtroom showed a thin-looking Abtahi and a grim Mirdamadi, both in prison uniforms, sitting in the front row. More than a hundred defendants could be seen sitting in the packed courtroom, many of them handcuffed but without prison uniforms. State media didn't provide further details about the trial, and there was no information on when it would end or when a verdict would be expected. The post-election protests have marked the biggest challenge to the cleric-led regime's power since the 1979 revolution. Ahmadinejad Friday sought shelter from his top supporter, the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declaring that Khamenei is like a father to him. Ahmadinejad accused his hard-line rivals of trying to drive a wedge between him and the man who sits at the top of Iran's clerical leadership and who has final say in all state matters. On Monday, Khamenei leads a ceremony formally approving Ahmadinejad's second term, and two days later Ahmadinejad is to be sworn in before parliament.
