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Iran to Execute 9 Protesters for Post-Election Unrest


A senior Iranian judiciary official says Iran will soon execute nine more convicted rioters for their connections to the unrest that erupted after the country's disputed presidential election in June.

The official, Ebrahim Raisi, is quoted by the Fars News agency, as saying the nine, along with two people were who executed last week, were linked to anti-revolutionary groups.

Iranian authorities said opposition activists Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani and Arash Rahmanipour were hanged last week. Their executions were the first of Iranian dissidents since protests erupted over last June's disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Human rights groups say the two dissidents were arrested before the June election and do not appear to be connected to the protests. But Iran said the men confessed to planning assassinations and bombings for the pro-monarchist Kingdom Assembly of Iran.

The disputed June election plunged Iran into its deepest internal crisis since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran's opposition accuses President Ahmadinejad of rigging the vote to win re-election and has been staging anti-government protests for more than six months.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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