Germany grants asylum to 50 Iranian dissidents

BERLIN - Germany has granted asylum to 50 Iranian citizens who fled their country after the so-called “Green Revolution” protests that followed last year’s presidential elections, the Interior Ministry said Saturday.

A spokesman for the ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed a report in the Spiegel news magazine and said that 12 of the asylum seekers have already arrived in the country. Another 26 have been approved, while the remainder still have to be processed.

The presidential election of June 2009, which saw Mahmoud Ahmadinejad re-elected, sparked massive street protests by supporters of opposition candidate Mir-Hossein Moussavi, who charged that the polls had been rigged.

The pro-Moussavi movement was nicknamed the “Green Revolution” after the campaign colour they had adopted.

The Spiegel report said that the majority of the dissidents involved in the protests had taken refuge in Turkey prior to their application for help from Germany.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere made the decision to admit Iranian dissidents in March, and a figure of 50 was agreed with regional ministers in May.