Selected Headlines

06 Jan 2010 21:532 Comments

Majlis finds Mortazavi main suspect in Kahrizak case

Rahe Sabz | Jan. 6, 2010

Former Tehran Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi was reportedly found by lawmakers to be the main suspect in the Kahrizak case.

Jaras cited Principlist lawmaker Ahmad Tavakoli's Alef Web site as saying, "Following months of precise investigation into the Kahrizak detention center incidents, the Majlis truth-finding committee unanimously voted and approved its final report on Sunday. To compile this report, which was handed to Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani on Wednesday, we inspected different police detention facilities and interviewed detainees, police officers and judicial officials."

The report found Mortazavi, who was in charge of Kahrizak upon the order of the then Judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, as the person with the most fault in the incident.

Mortazavi was transferred from the judicial branch to the executive branch of government upon the request of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and now heads the anti-smuggling task force.

Iran Majlis study identifies culprit in detention center atrocity

Alef | Jan. 6, 2010

Finally, after a few months of deliberation, the special Majlis committee set up to look into events at the Kahrizak detention center submitted its final report to the Majlis on Sunday.

In order to prepare the report which was submitted today, the committee visited various detention centers of the Law Enforcement Force (LEF) as well as the officials of the LEF, judicial authorities and the detainees.

Alef's correspondent reports that the study by the Majlis Inquiry has identified former Tehran Prosecutor Said Mortazavi as the main culprit in these events. He was appointed to this position under orders by the head of the Judiciary at the time.

The detainees were sent to Kahrizak under direct orders issued by Mortazavi. As a result of the violent conduct of interrogators and the unhygienic environment and assaults on the detainees by officials, three detainees with the names of Mohsen Rouhol Amini, Amir Javadifar and Mohammad Kamrani, lost their lives.

The judiciary branch of the armed forces had issued a statement on December 18 disclosing the killing of three detainees as a result of an assault on them. It had also reported condemnation of 12 of the accused in the Kahrizak detention center.

Said Mortazavi has become the head of the anti-narcotics and foreign exchange smuggling unit under orders by the government.

It is expected that next week the full text of the report by the Special Majlis Committee will be read out in Majlis. The lawmakers and officials involved in this inquiry are: Aqazadeh (Rasht constituency), Assadollahi (Torbat-e Jam), Elahiyan (Tehran), Borujerdi (Borujerd), Tajjari (Qasr-e Shirin), Jalali (Shahrud), Reza'i (Masjid Soleyman), Sarvari (Tehran), Sana'i (Nahavand), Alikhani (Qazvin), Karami (Kerman) and Karamirad (Kermanshah).

Mahsouli says he was sick, not disgruntled

Ayandeh | Jan. 6, 2010

By attending a cabinet meeting today, labor minister Sadegh Mahsouli [sought to put an] end to rumors circulating on news websites suggesting that he had not been performing his duties because of a dispute with the government.

According to the Fararu website, Mahsouli was not appearing at the labor ministry or attending cabinet meetings recently because of a spat over the Social Security Organization.

Mahsouli attributed his absence to sickness.

Yesterday the head of the Majlis Social Commission Soleiman Jafarzadeh told reporters that, "According to reports, Sadegh Mahsouli, the Minister of Welfare and Social Security, has not shown up for work for five days as a protest against [the handling of] issues surrounding the Social Security Organization, and this may lead to his resignation."

Iran diplomat quits over protest

Reuters | Jan. 6, 2010

A diplomat at the Iranian embassy in Norway told Norwegian television on Wednesday that he had resigned in protest over a crackdown on demonstrators in Iran but the government in Tehran denied the report.

"It was the Iranian authorities' treatment of demonstrators during the Christmas week that made me realize I couldn't continue," public broadcaster NRK quoted Mohammed Reza Heydari as saying.

NRK, which said it had spoken to Heydari, presented his quotes in text rather than audio or video form. Heydari, who NRK said has served as a consul at the embassy for the last three years, was not reachable for comment.

A friend of Heydari who was contacted by Reuters in Oslo said the diplomat remains in Norway but was not willing to make further statements for the time being.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told Reuters: "The report is baseless. A diplomat returns to the country when his mission is finished in another country."

Pro-reformist cleric reportedly arrested in Qom

Rahe Sabz | Jan. 6, 2010

The number of jailed members of the Participation Front has reached 12.

The news about the arrest of Ahmad Ahmadpour, a member of the central council of the Participation Front of the Qom area, has been confirmed.

According to a Nowrooz report, Ahmad Ahmadpour was arrested by the special court for the clergy after attending a meeting of researchers and teachers of the Qom scientific seminary.

With the arrest of Ahmadpour, as well as of Mehdi Gilani, a member of the youth branch of the Participation Front of Khorasan-Razavi Province, the number of jailed members of this pro-reformist party reached 12.

It was reported that the five-day leave of Abdollah Ramazanzadeh [from prison], a member of the central council of this party, which was expected to end tonight, has been extended.

Sharif to punish students requesting exam rescheduling

Gooya | Jan. 6, 2010

Sharif University's Student Affairs liaison Bijan Vosouqi Vahdat said authorities would punish anyone who attempts to obstruct or disrupt the final exams.

Vosouqi Vahdat told Fars News Agency that the university's final exams would be held next Sunday according to the school's calendar and that they would not be postponed.

"As we announced before, anyone who attempts to disrupt the finals exams will be severely punished."

Fars claimed that a group of Mir Hossein Mousavi supporters intend to create tension at Sharif University by gathering outside the dean's office and demanding the postponement of finals exams.

Iran Dec. inflation stands at 7.4 pct yr/yr -cbank

Reuters | Jan. 6, 2010

Iran's inflation rate remained unchanged in December at 7.4 percent year-on-year after months of continued downward trend, the central bank reported on Wednesday.

The official annual rate in the world's fifth-largest oil exporter has fallen from a peak of nearly 30 percent late last year.

Easing inflationary pressures could help President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, re-elected in a June disputed vote for a second four-year term, to counter criticisms over enforcing a subsidy reform plan which might stoke price rise and hurt the poor.

Under the plan, which needs the final approval of the powerful legislative watchdog Guardian Council to become a law, food and energy subsidies would be phased out over five years.

Iran's senior MP stresses transparency in cooperation with IAEA

Fars News | Jan. 6, 2010

The Islamic Republic of Iran has had the highest level of transparency in its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), head of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Borujerdi said on Tuesday.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran has shown a transparent approach in the nuclear issue and has allowed the IAEA inspectors and even the world's journalists to visit its nuclear facilities," Borujerdi said in a meeting with the head of the Italian Senate's Human Rights Commission here in Tehran.

The voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), suspension of uranium enrichment for two years and issuing permission to the UN watchdog inspectors to visit its nuclear sites are other instances of Iran's cooperation with the IAEA.

Also, during the meeting, Borujerdi referred to the age-old and friendly relations between Iran and Italy, and underlined the importance of the development and re-invigoration of parliamentary relations between the two countries.

Cartoon caption: Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ponders what to do with the enemies of God (or those charged with endangering national security). The Devil: "Execute them!" The angel (who resembles Mahmoud Ahmadinejad): "Give them life." This is Nikahang Kowsar's first cartoon of the Supreme Leader. He has never used a Shia Source of Emulation as the subject of one of his cartoons. Rooz online

Press Roundup provides a selected summary of news from the Iranian press, and excerpts where the source is in English. The link to the news organization or blog is provided at the top of each item. Tehran Bureau has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Please refer to the Media Guide to help put the story in perspective.