World speaks out against Iran's repression

BRUSSELS, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Iranian opposition leaders should have the right to express their opinions openly and without interference, the president of the European Parliament said.

Iranian authorities blocked access to the home of opposition leader and former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi and last week placed his colleague Mehdi Karroubi under house arrest. Both men lead the so-called Green Movement in Iran that contested the disputed re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009.

Iranian protesters, apparently inspired by the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, took to the streets Monday in defiance of the clerical regime.

Protesters marched and ran through central Tehran for a second day as riot police fired tear gas at and beat them, witnesses said. Demonstrators were seen Tuesday playing cat-and-mouse games with security forces patrolling on motorcycles.

Iran's state-run media reported little on the political violence other than decrying Mousavi and Karroubi for speaking out against the state. Iranian lawmakers said those responsible for any violence, including the opposition leaders, should be tried.

European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek said Mousavi and Karroubi "should be able to carry out their political activity freely and without impediments."

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Washington made a mistake by not voicing vigorous support for pro-democracy leaders in Iran in 2009.

"We cannot make that mistake again," she said in a statement.

At least one demonstrator was killed during political violence Monday.