Former Iranian President Khatami Criticised on Trial

Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has criticised the trial of people accused of violence after June’s disputed presidential election.

Mr Khatami’s website said the “show trial” would damage confidence in Iran’s Islamic establishment.

More than 100 people went on trial on Saturday, including several leading reformists, on charges including rioting, vandalism, and conspiracy.

The poll was won by incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad.

‘Against constitution’

On Mr Khatami’s website he expressed hope that Saturday’s trial would not “lead to ignorance of the real crimes.
The reformist Mr Khatami was president from 1997 to 2005.

The BBC’s Kasra Naji says the timing and scale of the trial came as a surprise and suggests Iran’s leadership wants to send a message to stop any more protests.

The AFP news agency quotes Mr Khatami as making more outspoken criticism of the trial.

“What was done yesterday is against the constitution, regular laws and rights of the citizens,” his office quoted him as saying.

“The most important problem with the trial procedure is that it was not held in an open session. The lawyers and the defendants were not informed of the contents of the cases ahead of the trial.”

Some of the defendants told the court their earlier claims of fraud during the 12 June poll were baseless, official media said.

But Iran’s largest reformist party, Mosharekat, dismissed the court appearance as a “show trial” and said the confessions had been forced.

‘Real winner’

Photos from the packed courtroom showed seated defendants wearing prison uniforms with guards next to them.

The defendants included supporters of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi and aides of Mr Khatami.

Many protesters insisted that Mr Mousavi was the real winner of the 12 June election.

The semi-official Fars news agency reported that former deputy foreign minister Mohsen Aminzadeh, former government spokesman Abdollah Ramazanzadeh, former senior lawmaker Mohsen Mirdamadi and former Industry Minister Behzad Nabavi were among those on trial.

Foreign media, including the BBC, have been restricted in their coverage of Iran since the election protests turned into confrontations with the authorities in which at least 30 people were killed.

Opposition groups alleged widespread vote-rigging. Post-election protests saw the largest mass demonstrations in Iran since the 1979 revolution, which brought about the current Islamic system of government.