Mousavi was vocal about his dissatisfaction with the official ruling. He appealed the outcome of the election and was unsuccessful. During the protest the Iranian government closed universities, enforced a national curfew, and imposed a media blackout. As a result, much of the media coverage relied on videos from Youtube, and information posted on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.
The Basij, a military group in Tehran, used force against the protesters and videos on the internet are evidence of outright brutality. Later the government banned “Green Demonstrations,” and blocked web sites, cell phone transmissions and text messaging. Even peaceful protesters were attacked with batons, pepper sprayed, and arrested. Similar to the “Battle in Seattle” news coverage, violence was the focus.
