Iran election 'rioters' go on trial

A group of opposition political activists and protesters are standing trial in Tehran on charges of rioting after the disputed presidential election, it was reported today.

The semi-official Fars news agency said there are more than 100 defendants at the court, in what is Iran’s first trial of people detained following the June 12 election.

Fars said the defendants included several prominent reformist opposition activists.

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians marched in days of protests after the election denouncing official results that declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner.

Iran’s opposition maintains that Ahmadinejad stole the vote from opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, but opposition demonstrations have been ruthlessly suppressed.