Reply #8: Iran's parliament speaker criticizes election authority

[Turborama]

Source: CNN International

Iran's influential parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani implied Saturday that the election authority sided with a certain candidate as thousands of defiant anti-government protesters once again swept into the streets of the capital.

A stream of videos posted on social networking Web sites depicted tense scenes and chaos -- sounds of gunshots, images of helicopters whirring overhead and wounded men and women being carried away.

The extent of deaths or injuries remained unclear. The Ministry of Culture on Saturday banned international media from reporting on the demonstrations unless they had received permission from Iranian authorities.

Sources at one Tehran hospital confirmed 19 deaths in seven days of post-election protests.

"Although the Guardian Council is made up of religious individuals, I wish certain members would not side with a certain presidential candidate," Larijani told the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) on Saturday, without naming whom he meant.

Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/21/iran.election/index.html?eref=rss_topstories