Mousavi, Ahmadinejads Rival Arrested Amid Iran Rioting
Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi was reportedly arrested Saturday following the reformist’s defeat at the polls by hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Supporters of Mousavi, the main challenger to Ahmadinejad, have responded to the election with the most serious unrest in Tehran in a decade and claim that the result was the work of a dictatorship.
There have been a number of contradictory reports from Iran, in large part due to the heavy restrictions imposed on the media in the Islamic Republic and in particular on foreign reporters.
Mousavi’s arrest was reported by an unofficial source, who said that the presidential contender had been arrested en route to the home of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Pro-reform Mousavi has denounced the election as rigged and vowed he will not accept defeat. He and key aides could not be reached by phone Saturday.
Several hundred demonstrators – many wearing the trademark green colors of Mousavi’s campaign – chanted “the government lied to the people” and gathered near the Interior Ministry as the final count from Friday’s presidential election was announced.
As night fell Saturday, the rioting and fires continued on the streets of Tehran. The city’s cell phone network appeared to be down Saturday night. When users tried to call cell phones, a message appeared saying error in connection. There were also reports of difficulties accessing social networking sites – used by Mousavi to rally supporters.
