Iranians chant 'death to dictator' at dissident's funeral
Tens of thousands attend Isfahan funeral of pro-reformist cleric Ayatollah Jalaluddin Taheri; demand release of green movement leaders
VIDEO - Tens of thousands of Iranians attended on Tuesday the funeral of a senior dissident cleric, in what became Iran's biggest anti-government protest in years, the BBC reported.
Mourners at the funeral in Isfahan chanted slogans against the government and Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, including "Death to the dictator."
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The BBC reported that pro-reformist Ayatollah Jalaluddin Taheri, who died at the age of 87 on Sunday, was a vocal opponent of the hardliners in power in Iran and had resigned from his position as Isfahan's Friday prayers leader in 2002 in protest against the country’s political and economic situation and what he described as the broken promises of the revolution.
Protest in Isfahan
In his resignation letter, which was ignored by the conservatives-controlled official media, he said he could not remain silent on the "tangible realties...and the suffering of people."
Taheri denounced "life-long powers; mafia-type gangs...that act under the name of religion and authoritarian fascists...walking up the ladder of religion and riding on the back of political camels."
The protesters also called for the release of all political prisoners, including Mehdi Karoubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi, the two top leaders of the reformist green movement who are under house arrest in Tehran - BBC reported.
According to reports, the protesters also chanted "Free Karoubi and Mousavi" and "Down with the dictator."
Police did not intervene in the protest.
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