Iran inquiry rejects accusations of detainee rape Reuters,com http://www.reuterscom'arficlePrint?arficleId—USTRE58B 19V200909 12
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Iran inquiry rejects accusations of
detainee rape
Sat Sep 12, 2009 2:14pm EDT
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Atop Iranian judicial committee rejected on Saturday
accusations by pro-reform cleric Mehdi Karoubi that some jailed protesters
had been raped after contested June presidential polls, state media said.
The three-man committee, including the country's most senior prosecutor
Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, called in a report for libel charges to be
considered against anyone making the claims.
“There are no documents proving the rape of the individuals as claimed by
Mr. Karoubi..., and these claims and the submifted documents are
fabricated and have been put together to mislead public opinion,” said the
report, quoted by state television.
Karoubi, who finished fourth in the elections, angered hardliners in August
by saying some jailed protesters were raped and abused in jail. He said this
month that he had handed over films and other material about abuse of
three detainees to a parliamentary investigative committee.
Authorities closed down Karoubi's office on Tuesday, a local news agency
said, and opposition websites have reported the detention of two prominent
reformists who helped set up an office to look into the situation of
post-election detainees and investigate deaths in street unrest after the
vote.
Karoubi and opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi, who finished second,
say the poll was rigged to secure President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's
re-election. Iranian officials reject the accusation.
The hardline president shored up his position last week when parliament
approved most of his new ministers after almost three months of political
turmoil in the major oil exporter.
The election and its turbulent aftermath plunged Iran into deep internal
crisis. Rights groups say thousands of people, including senior pro-reform
figures, were arrested after the poll, though most have been freed.
The state news agency IRNA said pro-reform activist Mohammadreza
Jalaipour, detained in mid-June on security charges, was released in Tehran
on Saturday. It quoted his father as saying the activist had not been
mistreated.
The reformist website Norooznews.ir said Jalaipour had spent 50 days in
solitary confinement and 38 days in a three-man cell. It was not immediately
clear if he faced further charges.
The opposition says more than 70 people were killed in the unrest. Officials
estimate the death toll at up to 36 people including members of the Islamic
Basij militia.
Hardliners have portrayed the opposition protests as a foreign-backed bid
to undermine the Islamic government system.
(Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
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