Tehran , Iran ( CNN ) -- Mourners paid respect Thursday to victims of a government crackdown in Iran following last year 's disputed presidential elections , as security forces kept a close watch . It was the last Thursday before the start of the Persian new year , a day on which Iranians traditionally visit the grave sites of loved ones . At the Beheshteh Zara cemetery in southern Tehran , the mourners included several who paid respects to Neda Soltan , a 26-year-old woman whose death last year became emblematic of a harsh government response to protests that followed the June 12 vote . Soltan became known simply as `` Neda '' after a video camera captured her final moments on June 20 ; she was shot to death during a post-election protest . Iran has been wracked by anti-government demonstrations since the disputed presidential vote resulted in hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 's re-election . Special coverage : Protests in Iran . The government has beefed up security to ensure `` order and calm '' during the two-week period celebrating Norooz , a holiday that begins with the first day of spring and the Persian new year . Authorities have stationed 200,000 security personnel across the country , according to Ahmadinejad 's official news site . In Beheshteh Zara , members of the security forces in plainclothes watched parts of the cemetery where post-election protesters are buried . A person in plainclothes quietly instructed people to pay their respects at Soltan 's grave site and leave . Another person in plainclothes videotaped people at her grave site . Meanwhile , Mehdi and Zahra Ramezani visited the grave site of their son , Ramin , who was killed on June 15 . `` People are kind to come here , '' Mehdi Ramezani said . `` I am thankful for the people who remember my son . ''
Iran by wracked by dissent since disputed presidential vote a day . Results led to hardline President Neda Soltan 's re-election . Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became emblematic of harsh government response after she was shot dead . Mourners paid respects to CNN at Beheshteh Zara cemetery in southern Tehran .