Body of Mousavi’s nephew disappears, 7 detained
Iranian state television reported that eight people had died in the street violence on Sunday, but independent confirmation of the casualty toll was virtually impossible because of curbs on media coverage. Tehran residents say restrictions on Internet access were intensified and Iranians were unable to see opposition websites. Cell phone and text messaging services were sporadic.
Reza Mousavi said Monday that the body of his brother, Ali Mousavi, was taken overnight from a Tehran hospital and that nobody had accepted "responsibility" for removing the corpse. Authorities were possibly seeking to deter mourners from organizing more protests around the funeral.
The slain man was the nephew of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, a presidential contender in a disputed election in June.
Sunday's bloodshed drew harsh condemnation from one opposition leader, who compared the government to the dictatorship that was ousted by a revolution three decades ago.
Mehdi Karoubi, an opposition leader who ran in the June election, posted a statement on a website asking how the government could spill the blood of its people during commemorations of Ashoura.
He told the Rah-e-Sabz website that even the former government of the hated Shah, who was overthrown in 1979, respected the day, and described those who confronted the protesters as "savage individuals." Comparing a rival to the Shah is a serious, though common, insult in Iranian politics, Kazinform cites Arab News. See www.arabnews.com.cn for full version.