Washington Post: With Iran Blaming West, Dual Citizens Are Targets
Among the more than 100 people on trial after Iran’s disputed presidential election are two dual citizens: Kian Tajbakhsh, 47, an American Iranian urban planner, and Maziar Bahari, 42, a Canadian Iranian filmmaker and Newsweek reporter.
New York Times: Iran Prosecutor General Acknowledges Torture
A top judiciary official acknowledged Saturday that some detainees arrested after post-election protests had been tortured in Iranian prisons, the first such acknowledgment by a senior Iranian official. […]
Speaking to reporters at a news conference, Qorbanali Dori-Najafabadi, the prosecutor general, said “mistakes” had led to a few “painful accidents which cannot be defended, and those who were involved should be punished.”
Such mistakes, he said, included “the Kahrizak incident,” a reference to the deaths of several detainees at Kahrizak detention center in southwestern Tehran.
His comments came after weeks of reports that detainees had been tortured, and they fell somewhere between an admission and an accusation, as most of the arrests were made by the Revolutionary Guards and the paramilitary Basij militia, groups that are not under the control of the judiciary.
Even so, the statement was likely to be incendiary in Iran, where allegations of torture by Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi became a central justification of the 1979 revolution that brought the hard-line clerics to power.
Detainees’ accusations of torture have already prompted a parliamentary investigation of abuses at Kahrizak, which was closed last month by order of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Mr. Dori-Najafabadi said his team had tried to change the situation after taking control of the arrests last month, the ILNA news agency reported, and he encouraged people to come forward with complaints.
“Maybe there were cases of torture in the early days after the election,” he was quoted as saying, “but we are willing to follow up any complaints or irregularities that have taken place.”
In another indication of dissension, he said a special judiciary committee had recommended the release of Saeed Hajjarian, a prominent reformist. Mr. Hajjarian’s family said he had been tortured, and has expressed concern about his health. Last week, the Iranian authorities said Mr. Hajjarian had been moved to a site with access to doctors.
Mr. Dori-Najafabadi also said that about 100 people had been arrested every day after the post-election demonstrations began, and that there were efforts to release about the same number daily. There are nearly 200 detainees today, he said.
Iran’s Police Chief admits election demonstrators were tortured
Iran’s police chief admitted today that protesters arrested after June’s disputed presidential election had been tortured while in custody in a notorious prison in south-west Tehran. But he denied any of the detainees died as a result of their mistreatment.
In remarks reported by state-run media, General Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam said the chief of the Kahrizak detention centre had been dismissed and punished.
“The head of the centre has been sacked and jailed. Three policemen who beat detainees have been jailed as well,” the official IRNA news agency quoted Moghaddam as saying.
IRGC Commander: Arrest Mousavi, Karroubi, & Khatami
“If Mousavi, (defeated candidate Mehdi) Karoubi and (former president Mohammad) Khatami are main suspects behind the soft revolution in Iran, which they are, we expect the judiciary … to go after them, arrest them, put them on trial and punish them,” said Yadollah Javan, a senior Guards commander, the official IRNA news agency reported.
U.S. National Security Advisor Calls for Release of Americans in Iran
The United States has sent strong messages to Iran urging the release of three American hikers who were detained there recently, U.S. national security adviser Jim Jones said on Sunday.
“We have sent strong messages that we would like these three young people released as soon as possible, and also others that they have in their custody as well,” Jones told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” The Iranian government acknowledged on Sunday that it had the three Americans in its custody, he said.
Fars News: Ahmadinejad to introduce new cabinet next Monday.
Shirin Ebadi calls for release of detainees.
Press TV: Iran Police Chief blamed for Kahrizak prison deaths
Hamid-Reza Katouzian, a member of the Principlist faction that holds the majority of seats in the Parliament (Majlis), said Wednesday that Iran’s Police Chief, Esmail Ahmadi-Moqaddam, is responsible for the death and abuse of detained opposition demonstrators in Kahrizak.
“Unfortunately, the gross misconduct of Kahrizak officials have resulted in the murder of scores of young people,” said Katouzian. “The Iranian Police Chief is duty bound to provide a clear explanation in this regard.”
Robin Wright: In Iran, a Hostage-Taker Is Now Hostage
Back to topThis new purge may be more profound politically than the campaign against the followers of Mir Hossein Mousavi: The Iranian revolution is eating its children.
Mohsen Mirdamadi saw it all coming. He warned me about it five years ago. The only thing he didn’t foresee was his own role. Last week, he sat in a revolutionary court, dressed in gray prison pajamas, as one of its victims.