Iran's opposition leaders say the country's clerical rulers are more brutal than the shah's regime.

Two of Iran's top pro-reform figures say police used excessive force against anti-government protesters who took to the streets last week on the sidelines of state-sanctioned rallies to mark the 30th anniversary of the US embassy takeover.

Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi say authorities even struck women on their heads with batons. In a web posting Saturday, they called such treatment an ugly act that was not even seen during the shah's response to the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled him.

Mousavi and Karroubi have led a protest movement rejecting the legitimacy of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's June re-election.

Protestor gets 8-year prison term

Meanwhile, an Iranian court on Saturday sentenced a student who took part in protests following Iran's disputed presidential election this year to eight years in prison, a website reported.

Abdullah Momeni's wife told website Mowjcamp, which backs defeated candidate Mousavi, that Momeni was sentenced to six years for taking part in post-election protests and two years for previous activities concerning national security.

Several other post-election detainees have received jail terms and three people have been sentenced to death, according to Iranian media.