LONDON (AP) - Protesters around the world called on Iran Saturday to end its clampdown on opposition activists, demanding the release of hundreds rounded up during demonstrations against the country's disputed election.
Groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International backed a global day of action, with protests planned in more than 80 cities, including several in the United States.
The protesters want Iranian authorities to release what they say are hundreds, or even thousands, of people detained during protests that followed the presidential election last month that returned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power.
Inside Iran, as well, Iranian police and pro-government militia attacked and scattered hundreds of protesters who had gathered in Tehran in response to the global demonstrations of solidarity, witnesses said.
Demonstrators in Vanak and Mirdamad districts chanted "death to the dictator" and "we want our vote back" before they were attacked and beaten by police Saturday. The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has declared Ahmadinejad's victory valid.
In the United States, several thousand people gathered in Los Angeles and San Francisco in rallies Saturday night.
At the University of California, Los Angeles, many wore green in solidarity with the Iranian protesters. Coordinator Elahe Amani said the protesters called for the United Nations to send a delegation to Iran in order to investigate the violence. Thousands shouted "Free Iran" earlier Saturday in front of San Francisco City Hall.
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