Iran put on trial Sunday 25 activists and reformist supporters, including a Jewish teenager, for their alleged involvement in the post-election riots. According to the AP, the prosecutor opened the trial with a general indictment of all 25 defendants, accusing them of plotting the riots years ahead of time, said IRNA, Iran's state news agency.
During the trial, authorities played a film showing attacks on public property, cars and a mosque by protesters.
The semi-official Fars news agency reported one of the people on trial belongs to Ithe country's Jewish community. Yaghoghil Shaolian, 19, was quoted as saying he did not join the protests, but just threw some stones at a bank branch in central Tehran on June 14, resulting in his arrest. According to him, he was not an activist and did not vote in the election.
The report said Shaolian's lawyer asked the court for a reasonable and fair prosecution due to his youth.
Iran's Jewish parliamentarian, Siamak Mereh Sedq, confirmed the detention of Shaolian and his Jewish identity. "I have been pursuing his case since we learned about his detention," said Mereh Sedq. "He is innocent, we hope to see his release soon based on Islamic mercy," he said.
IRNA also reported that during the hearing one of the suspects, Mehrdad Aslani, accused opposition leader Mir Hosein Mousavi and other reformist activists of planting the idea of election fraud in the mind of their followers.
