Timeline of the 2009 Iranian election protests punished under Islamic law." Several scattered protests broke out throughout the country on the anniversary of the election, despite warnings from the government and security forces against protesting. However, there were no major widespread protests. Minor sporadic protest took place at Tehran's Azadi Square and at some universities throughout Iran. Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi both cancelled planned protests fearing violence. Pro-government mobs attacked the home of Mahdi Karroubi. Hamid Mohseni, the head of Mir Hossein Mousavi's office was arrested by Iranian security forces. Hossein Alizadeh, the Charge d'affaires and number 2 diplomat at the Iranian Embassy in Helsinki, Finland,
Iranian Reformists However, neither made it to the second round of the election (the final runoff): Moin came in fifth and Karroubi third in the first round. As a result, many supporters of the reform movement lost hope and did not participate in the election. The two leading reformist candidates in the 2009 presidential election were Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. Mousavi supporters disbelieved the election results and initiated a series of protests that lasted several days. After many days of protesting against the election results, the protests eventually turned violent as the Basij (loyal police to the Islamic Republic) started attacking