The Iranian news agency ISNA has reported that three people have been sentenced to death for their part in the mass demonstrations which followed this year's disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Following the results of the elections in June, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of several Iranian cities to protest, saying that there had been large scale election fraud and that opposition leader Hossein Mousavi was the real winner.

The authorities cracked down hard on the protests. Dozens of people were killed and thousands arrested.

In the Netherlands, Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen has voiced his horror over the death sentences. He said the death penalty has no place in a modern society, where everyone should be free to express his or her opinion. Mr Verhagen has urged Iran to commute the sentences.

Photo of Hossein Mousavi supporters during the protests by EPA