demonstration during the funeral. Her son, Saeed Montazeri, said, “They are even afraid of a corpse.”
Mah-Soltan Rabani died just 14 weeks after her husband passed away December 20 at the age of 87. The age of the widow at death and the cause of death were not announced.
Saeed Montazeri complained bitterly to the Jaras opposition website about the treatment of the family by the authorities.
“They not only refused to let us hold the funeral ceremony, they wouldn’t even let us bury her at the site we had chosen,” Saeed said.
The Kalameh website operated by the supporters of Mir-Hossain Musavi later reported that 30 people who had gone to the cemetery to attend the funeral Sunday were arrested.
Saeed Montazeri said the government sent dozens of government vehicles with security forces who seized his mother’s body, made a brief stop at a religious shrine and then quickly took her to a burial site selected by the government.
“They are even afraid of a corpse,” Saeed said.
Another son, Ahmad, told the BBC he had argued with the security forces and told them they were being foolish. “I told them not to create problems for the regime and themselves,” he said. “With the Now Ruz holidays, the funeral would not be so big.”
He said he told the authorities, “With your actions, you are creating problems for the regime, the people—and us. Unfortunately, they didn’t accept that.” He said the authorities had ordered that mourners seeking to pay their respects must remain 150 meters from the gravesite.