News

Tehran Protesters Defy Ban and Clash With Police

By NAZILA FATHI

Published: December 26, 2009

TORONTO — Police officers and militia forces clashed with demonstrators in central Tehran all day Saturday and then again in northern Tehran in the evening, where the government forces shut down a speech by former President Mohammad Khatami, a reformist leader.

The demonstrators, who defied an official ban and turned a Shiite ceremony into a protest, underlined the government’s inability to suppress the opposition despite the use of violence. Protests have continued since a disputed presidential election in June, and a large one is anticipated on Sunday, the culmination of the Shiite holiday of Ashura.

Witnesses and an opposition Web site said the police andBasij militiamen beat and arrested protesters in central Tehran.

The police fired tear gas at protesters in three central squares — Imam Hussein, Enghelab and Ferdowsi — the opposition Web site Jaras reported.

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