Iran panel refutes Karroubi sexual assault claims

          
          Press TV http://www.presstv.ir/pop/Print/?id=106009
          E 1L1 JUTV
          Iran panel refutes Karroubi sexual assault claims
          Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:28:04 GMT
          A judiciary panel dismisses allegations made by leading opposition figure and former presidential
          candidate Mehdi Karroubi that post-vote detainees had been sexually assaulted in Iranian jails.
          “The three-member judiciary panel studied Karroubi's claims and found them completely false and
          politically-motivated. The panel has also called for fair and firm action against him,” Fars News
          Agency quoted the panel's report, which was presented to Judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani
          on Saturday.
          “The panel concludes that there is no proof that people who Karroubi claimed of being raped,
          have been raped,” the report said.
          “These allegations and documents have been fabricated to distract public opinion,” it added.
          Asked about evidence on sexual assault on some detainees of post-vote unrest, Karroubi said
          members of Etemad-e-Melli (National Trust) Party have quoted an individual as saying that he has
          been arrested in a street in Tehran, beaten up and consequently raped.
          “I called the person and heard his remarks. One of the Etemad-e-Melli members recorded his
          words on a CD, which I present to you,” the cleric added.
          “He said he was alone in the street when three men confronted him and took him away in their
          car,” he said.
          Karroubi cited another case saying, “This girl, whose father and some other family members have
          been martyred, was a supporter of presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi.”
          “She and her mother were shouting Allah-u Akbar (God is Great) from rooftops when she was
          arrested in her home. She was beaten up and secretly buried after parts of her corpse were
          burned by acid.”
          “I have heard that Mir-Hossein Mousavi took part in her funeral ceremony. I was supposed to go to
          her home, but had no time. My son went there for me.”
          The cleric said he was not absolutely sure the individuals were arrested and raped after the
          presidential election in June, according to the report.
          “These remarks are just what I have heard. As I opposed the election result, I invited or talked to
          everybody who made claims,” Karroubi said.
          Studies by the judiciary panel revealed that father of the female that Karroubi claimed had been
          sexually assaulted had not been martyred, but died some years ago.
          The panel proposed that outcomes of the report should be announced to the nation through mass
          media.
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          It also said the results should be sent to appropriate judicial officials to take firm action against
          people who acted against national interests after the presidential election and damaged the
          credibility of the Islamic establishment.
          The three-member panel has been set up upon an order by Ayatollah Larijani, the country's chief
          judge, to thoroughly investigate all post-vote cases included in Karroubi's letter.
          Iran's Prosecutor General, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje' i, deputy Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raeesi
          and Judiciary adviser Ali Khalafi were named on Saturday as members of the panel.
          SF/SC/MD
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