Hundreds of Moussavi's supporters arrested in Iran

PanARMENIAN.Net - Hundreds of Mir-Hossein Moussavi's supporters were arrested in the weekend's protests against the disputed Iranian presidential election. It emerged on Monday, as the opposition leader urged people not to be intimidated and to keep up their peaceful protests.



State radio said 457 were detained on Saturday - the bloodiest day of protests against the results of the June 12 poll which declared a landslide victory for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the fundamentalist president.



At least 10 people were killed on Saturday, according to official reports.



There have been demonstrations in support of the Iranian opposition held throughout Europe. In Berlin, Iranian emigres took to the streets carrying banners that read "Together for Iran" and "Stop the Killing".



Germany's Chancellor, Angela Merkel sent a message to Iran's government. She said for confidence in Iran to grow, there must be a complete recount of the votes.



"I call upon the Iranian leaders to allow peaceful demonstration, freedom of media reporting, to refrain from using force against demonstrators and to free opponents in detention," she said.



In Paris, thousands of demonstrators from an exiled opposition group called for the EU to put pressure on the Iranian authorities to have a new election.



Spain's foreign ministry issued a statement supporting its European partners, accused by Tehran of interfering in internal Iranian affairs.





And Italy called on Tehran to avoid further bloodshed, saying violence is the enemy of Iran, its history and its ancient tradition.