By NAZILA FATHI

January 30, 2010

Source:

The two main opposition leaders in called on their supporters on Saturday to take part in a demonstration on Feb. 11, the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

and , the opposition leaders, urged supporters to participate in the rally next month, the Web site reported. Protesters have hijacked public events to stage antigovernment rallies since the disputed June 12 election.

Meanwhile, Iran’s judiciary put 16 protesters on trial on Saturday as the authorities continued to take aggressive measures to discourage another protest. Two men, Arash Rahmani Pour, 19, and Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani, 37, were hanged on Thursday. They had been convicted on charges of defying God and belonging to armed organizations.

Of the protesters put on trial on Saturday, five were charged with Moharebeh — meaning waging war against God — the official news agency IRNA said. Moharebeh can carry the death penalty. The rest were charged with jeopardizing national security.

The identities of the defendants were not disclosed, but the news agency reported that one was a member of the outlawed Bahai faith, one was affiliated with a Communist group and some belonged to Mujahedeen Khalq, an armed opposition group in exile.

Raja news, a Web site supportive of President , quoted one of those charged with Moharebeh, identified only as the accused No. 5, as saying in court that he had gone to downtown Tehran on Dec. 27 and had shot a video of with his cellphone. The man said that he was a former member of Mujahedeen Khalq and that he had sent the video to the group’s TV station.

The Feb. 11 protest would be the first rally since Dec. 27.

A senior commander, Hussein Hamedani, warned that the force would not “allow the Green Movement to make an appearance” during the annual rally, the ISNA student news agency reported.