Activist refuses to mount defence in court

     Iranian activist Mohammad Tavasoli has protested against the charged brought against him in court by refusing to defend himself in what he called an "illegal court."

Kaleme reported that Tavasoli, a member of Iran's Freedom Movement Party, was in court on Monday, where he challenged the legitimacy of the proceedings against him, saying: "With my years of service and experience in guarding the fundamentals and ideals of the revolution as well as national interests, I do not feel I should mount a defense in a case that has no legal justification and whose outcome has already been determined."   Mohammad Tavasoli was arrested in November of 2011 in connection with a letter that 143 political activists had written to former president Mohammad Khatami to criticize the elections.   Tavasoli was Tehran's first mayor after the 1979 revolution and has been arrested on several occasions by the Islamic Republic authorities for his political views.   Source: Radio Zamaneh