**A former Iranian vice-president has been sentenced to six years in jail for attempting to destabilise the country following June’s disputed elections.**Mohammed Ali Abtahi is one of the most high-profile reformers to be convicted of fomenting street protests.
Around 80 have been jailed and five have been sentenced to death over the unrest that followed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed poll victory.
Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has called for government restraint.
“The government should not intimidate people to change their path,” he was quoted as saying on his Kaleme website.
Mr Mousavi, who was Mr Ahmadinejad’s leading challenger for the presidency, has vowed to continue the struggle against what he says was a fraudulent election.
“This movement will continue and we are ready to pay any price,” he said.
Forced confession
Mr Abtahi’s lawyer said his client - who served as vice-president under former President Mohammad Khatami - had 20 days to appeal the verdict.
Official news agency Irna said the charges against Mr Abtahi and some 100 fellow accused included “having ties with counter-revolutionary groups”, rioting and conspiring against the ruling system.
In August, Mr Abtahi was quoted by Fars news agency as telling his trial: “The issue of fraud in Iran was a lie and was brought up to create riots.”
He said that the aim was to create a “velvet revolution”, referring to the overthrow of Communism in Czechoslovakia in 1989.
Mr Abtahi also appeared on television admitting to provoking riots, but his family said the statements were made under duress.
Mosharekat, Iran’s biggest reformist party and a leading backer of Mr Mousavi, dismissed the proceedings as a “laughable show trial”.
UN resolution
The protests after June’s disputed polls were the largest mass demonstrations seen in Iran since the 1979 revolution, which brought the current Islamic regime to power.
On Friday, a key UN committee voted to approve a non-binding resolution condemning Iran for its post-election crackdown.
The resolution also repeated annual criticism of Iran’s human rights record, including the use of torture and a rising number of executions.
It urged Tehran to end persecution of political opponents and release those imprisoned for their political views.
Iran’s UN ambassador dismissed the resolution as politically motivated.
At least 30 protesters have been killed in clashes and thousands arrested since the elections. Some 200 opposition activists remain behind bars.
Foreign media, including the BBC, have been restricted in their coverage of Iran since the election protests turned violent.