Pro-government groups use violence to intimidate Iranians who have protested the presidential election results
Pro-Government Enforcers
A Mousavi supporter is beaten by men with rubber batons. In the days after the election results were announced in favor of Ahmadinejad, brigades of men, some armed with hoses, clubs, truncheons and sticks appeared in Tehran's streets, fighting with opposition supporters.AP
Stained
Two students hold a shirt that they say belonged to a student beaten by the militias.Kamran Jebreili / AP
On Wheels
In a letter posted on his website on June 18, Mousavi wrote of men who lack uniforms, proper identification or anything that denotes them as public employees. "Just before the police show up they attack the demonstrations," he wrote.Reuters
Confrontation
Known collectively as Basij, the brigades consist of officially recognized groups like Ansar Hezbollah, whose members undergo formal training, to smaller groups controlled by local clerics. The word Basij in Persian roughly translates as mass mobilization.AP
Leverage
On June 14, one day after the election results were announced, a group of Basijis forced their way into Tehran University, where many Mousavi supporters were protesting.AFP / Getty
Breached
The police officers in this frame appear to be doing nothing to stop the militia members.AFP / Getty
Ransacked
This photograph, posted on Twitter, was taken the day after the militias raged through the student dormitories.Twitter / Reuters
Damages
A student surveys the scene in a dormitory public area after the attacks. The machine on the floor is an ATM.AP
Sticks and Stones
Men hurl rocks at Mousavi supporters at Tehran University on June 14.AP
Overview
It is not known how many belong to the various Basij groups. One estimate says that there are 3 million members nationwide.Reuters
