Up to 100 defendants accused of violence in aftermath of disputed presidential election appear in Tehran court

The first trials of opposition political activists and protesters arrested after June’s disputed Iranian presidential election began today.

Up to 100 defendants were reported by Iranian media to be appearing before a court in the capital, Tehran, accused of violence following the 12 June vote.

The election sparked days of protests as thousands of Iranians took to the streets to denounce the official results, which declared victory for the incumbent president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The official IRNA news agency said the defendants were charged with rioting, attacking military and government buildings, having links with armed opposition groups and conspiring against the ruling system.

Under the country’s Islamic law, acting against national security – a common charge against dissidents – could be punishable by a long sentence or even the death penalty.

Several prominent reformist opposition activists – including the former vice president Mohammat Ali Abtahi, Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, a former government spokesman, and Behzad Nabavi, an ex-vice Speaker of parliament – are among the defendants.

The Associated Press said the former deputy foreign minister Mohsen Aminzadeh and Mohsen Mirdamadi, the leader of Iran’s biggest reformist party, the Islamic Iran Participation Front, were also facing trial.

Photographs from the courtroom showed a Abtahi and Mirdamadi, wearing prison uniform, sitting in the front row. Many other defendants were handcuffed but were not wearing prison clothes.

Prosecutors read out an indictment outlining what they alleged was a year-long plot by leading pro-reform political parties to carry out a “velvet revolution” – a popular, non-violent uprising to overthrow the Islamic Republic.

The phrase comes from the peaceful 1989 velvet revolution which overthrew decades of communism in Czechoslovakia.

The prosecutor said three of the biggest opposition parties had taken money from foreign non-governmental organisations and sought to use the election controversy as an opportunity to carry out their plot, according to a transcript reported by IRNA.

He claimed Israeli and western officials had spoken in recent years of fomenting revolution in Iran.

“Based on the evidence obtained and well-founded confessions of the defendants, these events had been planned in advance and stages of the velvet revolution were carried out in accordance with a time schedule,” the indictment said.

IRNA did not give information about how many defendants were in court, but the semi-official Fars news agency said more than 100 were present.

State media did not provide further details about the trial, and there was no information on when it would end and when a verdict could be expected.

The reformist mowjcamp website denounced the trial, saying defendants had no access to lawyers and there was no jury.

“Do those who organised this show trial think that the nation will remain silent to slaughter the nation’s best?” it asked.

Iran’s opposition maintains Ahmadinejad stole the vote from the opposition leader, Mir Hossein Mousavi, but demonstrations have been ruthlessly suppressed, leaving hundreds in prison.

Yesterday, Ahmadinejad said the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was like a father to him.

The president accused his hardline rivals of trying to drive a wedge between him and the man who sits at the top of Iran’s clerical leadership and has final say in all state matters.

On Monday, Khamenei will lead a ceremony formally approving Ahmadinejad’s second term. He will be sworn in before parliament two days later.