“Death to the dictator” chant Iranian protestors after funeral procession

         
Amateur video posted online shows mourners in an Iranian city chanting opposition slogans at the funeral of a dissident cleric on Tuesday, in the largest political protest in years. [To view the YouTube video click here]      

The video, which was accessed and verified by The Associated Press in London, shows thousands of mourners in the central city of Isfahan for the funeral of Ayatollah Jalaluddin Taheri, who died on Sunday.          

Taheri, a senior reformist cleric, had criticised Iranian hard-liners.         

In the footage, the mourners are heard calling for the release of opposition leaders under house arrest, Green Movement leader Mir Hossein Mousavi and fellow former candidate in the 2009 elections, Mahdi Karroubi.         

The mourners were also heard chanting "Ya Hossein Mir Hossein", which links the first name of Mousavi with a Shiite saint, Imam Hossein, who was grandson of Prophet Muhammad and a symbol of personal sacrifice for a cause.         

In other videos, which were posted online, cries of "death to the dictator" are heard. These do not appear directly related to next week's presidential election.          

But they echo protest chants after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election in 2009 and are likely to alarm security officials on full alert before the June 14 vote.         

The videos, which first appeared on an Iranian website, appear authentic, according to interviews and analysis by The Associated Press.         


AP