Tehran - A group of Iranian religious scholars joined the ranks of those alleging fraud in the June 12 presidential election Sunday, by calling the poll invalid. The Assembly of Seminary Scholars and Researchers, based in the religious stronghold of Qom, in a statement accused the Guardian Council of partiality in the election review process, and of ignoring the complaints of the opposition regarding irregularities.
The Guardian Council is Iran's highest legislative body, and was responsible for investigating the conduct of the election following massive demonstrations in Tehran after the result of the June 12 poll was announced.
On Monday, the Guardian Council approved the results of the election, in which incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won, and said there had been no major irregularities.
The Assembly also decried the violence that followed the vote, in which at least 20 demonstrators are thought to have died.
The Assembly is regarded as a moderate and reform-oriented group, but does not have the same political influence as other, conservative, groupings in Qom.
Meanwhile the head of Iranian police, General Ismeil Ahmadi- Moqaddam said Sunday that the judicial processes of the individuals detained during the protests was now beginning, the Mehr news agency reported.
More than 1,000 people are believed to have been detained during the protests, in which hundreds of thousands of Iranians took part.
The general did not specify how many individuals were being prosecuted, but accused some of them of having received "training abroad" in the pursuit of a "velvet revolution" at home.
"The police have details about the activities of these people who tried to question the legitimacy of the election and expose fraud with the help of Western media and their embassies," Ahmadi-Moqaddam said.
A number of former reformist officials, including former vice- president Mohammad-Ali Abtahi, are believed to be in jail for their suspected part in the protests.
The police chief denied that anyone had died during the protests at the hands of the police.
"The police did not shoot one single bullet," he said.
On the death of female protestor Neda Agha-Soltan, who became a symbol of the opposition, Ahmadi-Moqaddam said that an investigation was ongoing into her case, but appeared to imply that security forces were not responsible for her death.
"It is clear that the killing took place in a place which was far away from the demonstration venue," he said.
Iranian state officials have claimed that Soltan was killed by demonstrators, not by security forces.
On Sun
