Mehdi Karroubi: Iran opposition leader taken to hospital after hunger strike

Mehdi Karroubi: Iran opposition leader taken to hospital after hunger strike

An Iranian opposition leader held under house arrest since 2011 has been admitted to hospital a day after he began a hunger strike, his family says.

Mehdi Karroubi stopped eating and drinking to press the authorities to give him a public trial and remove security agents from his house.

The 70-year-old cleric was taken to a hospital in Tehran in the early hours of Thursday due to high blood pressure.

He suffers from heart disease and has required hospital treatment before.

Mr Karroubi and fellow reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi, 75, were candidates in Iran's disputed presidential election in 2009, which was won by the hardline incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Millions of opposition supporters took to the streets to demand a re-run of the vote amid allegations of widespread fraud.
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