On the eve of the March 17 Charshambe Soori holiday in Iran, Tehran prosecutor-general Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi announced that six of the detainees from the December 27 Ashura Day protests had been sentenced to death.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and regime-supporting ayatollahs called on the public not to celebrate the holiday, saying it was based in superstition and had no Islamic basis.
Dr. Zahra Rahnavard, wife of protest movement leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, said that the protest movement would honor its fallen on this day in nonviolent fashion.
The Majlis Security Committee discussed preparations for the expected demonstrations; there were reports of preventive arrests and of the establishment of a special command for dealing with the expected unrest.
The Charshambe Soori holiday, celebrated on the last Wednesday of the Persian year, has its roots in Zoroastrian fire rituals and is used to protest against the Iranian regime.
Sources: Fars, Iran, March 15, 2010; IRNA, Iran, March 14, 2010; Asr-e Iran, Iran, March 13, 2010; Kalame, Iran, March 11, 2010; Khandaniha.eu, March 10, 2010
