Iranians rally in London to protest against poll result

• Listen:
• Windows Media

EMMA ALBERICI: The protesters are chanting "Where is my vote? Give me back my vote!"

What's your name?

SARAH EBBRIHIMI: Sarah Ebbrihimi. It is a day to mourn today because a lot of our brothers and sisters, our family people who are fighting in Iran have passed away, so today we are mourning for them.

EMMA ALBERICI: Most of you here are also wearing the green.

SARAH EBBRIHIMI: Yes because we are all, we all voted for Mousavi and we were hoping for him to the president and from the outcome of the elections it came out for Ahmadinejad to be the President, what we did not want.

EMMA ALBERICI: Why would you have preferred Mousavi?

SARAH EBBRIHIMI: We want more democracy. I mean people have, we believe that the people should choose their representatives. That is how democracy should work but the Government is choosing who they want, not the people.

(Protesters chanting)

IRANIAN PROTESTER: We are supposed to select a president but the president was selected beforehand and we are saying the Iranian country is like a democrat country but what we seeing now is a dictator and we don't want that. We are not happy with that. We are going to fight until we get the result.

EMMA ALBERICI: Are you a student in London?

IRANIAN PROTESTER: Yes, I'm a student. I am doing accounting and finance. It is my final year. I am supposed to go back to Iran. At the moment I am a bit scared because I don't know what is going to happen to me if I go back there.

You know that they are killing people in my country. At the moment there are like 12 people have been killed and they don't want to...

EMMA ALBERICI: And how do you know that?

IRANIAN PROTESTER: They were my friends and relatives.

(Protesters chanting)

EMMA ALBERICI: Dr Abdul-Sattar Deshoki, you are a political commentator and analyst and Iranian Opposition politician. Can you first of all translate the chant here today?

ABDUL-SATTAR DESHOKI: The chants are concentrated on Ahmadinejad's cheating the election. They are saying "Ahmadinejad, Ahmadinejad, give my vote back to me. Ahmadinejad, Ahmadinejad, cheating"; and they are calling for their so-called martyrs, people that have been killed, that we will get your votes back.

EMMA ALBERICI: Is this an eruption of a long held frustration that we are seeing over the last week?

ABDUL-SATTAR DESHOKI: Absolutely. I think this is the first time that you see an eruption of people's anger in Iran where Ahmadinejad's last four years of government as well as their behaviour in the election, their cheatings, has provided a vehicle for the people to express their frustration and their anger though 30 years of the Ayatollah's regime.