Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have applied to the Iranian interior ministry for permission to hold a mourning ceremony for those killed in the country's post election unrest after the June 12 presidential polls, the semi-official ILNA news agency reported.

"We request permission to hold a ceremony to commemorate the 40th day after the deaths of our citizens who lost their lives following the start of the saddening events," the two politicians said in their request to Iranian Minister for the Interior Sadeq Mahsouli.

They asked to be allowed to hold a 90-minute commemoration promising there would be no political actions, slogan or speeches. All they said they intended were recitals from the Koran and a commemorative silence.

No date was mentioned in the letter. The opposition leaders want to hold the ceremony at Tehran's "Grand Mosala," a prayer location where tens of thousands can gather, the letter said.

Should the interior ministry decline the request, any gathering would be considered illegal and authorities and police would be authorized to intervene.

Rising death toll

This comes along news released on Sunday that an Iranian student who was arrested during the recent protests died in prison. On Saturday, opposition newspapers had reported the death of another student who was also arrested during the protests.

The June 12 presidential vote saw hard-line incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad return to power but the election was widely seen as fraudulent. Massive protests in Tehran and across the country lead to prolonged unrest in Iran with opposition leaders continuing to demand a recount of the votes.

Iranian officials say that more than 1,000 people were arrested in the demonstrations. Opposition leaders are calling for the unconditional release of all those imprisoned in the wake of the protests.

On Saturday, thousands of protesters took to the streets around the world demanding that Iran end its crackdown on opposition activists.

ai/AFP/dpa
Editor: Kyle James