Iran Torture Trials Begin

TEHRAN, Iran — The trial in Iran opened Tuesday for 12 suspects accused of torturing to death three anti-government protesters tortured in prison during the turmoil following the June elections, the official news agency reported.

Iran's judiciary last year charged 12 officials at Kahrizak prison for involvement in the death of three protesters detained there in July.

The IRNA report did not identify any of the suspects, saying the judge has banned reporting details of the trial. The opening sessions will hear the complaints and charges against the men.

In January, a parliamentary probe found a former Tehran prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi, responsible for the torture death of the three in Kahrizak detention center in the capital.

There has been no word of any action to punish Mortazavi so far and he currently heads a government body tasked with fighting smuggling of goods.

Anger over the abuse emerged in August, after influential conservative figures in the clerical hierarchy condemned the mistreatment of detainees. The outrage forced Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to order the immediate closure of the Kahrizak.

The confirmation by the hard-line judiciary of the prisoner deaths proved one of the most devastating claims against authorities over their treatment of protesters.

The opposition says more than 80 protesters have been killed in the postelection crackdown, but the government puts the number of confirmed dead at less than 40.

Authorities initially denied the abuse claims, accusing the opposition of running a campaign of lies against the ruling system.

The unrest broke out after pro-reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi claimed he was robbed of the presidency through massive fraud in the vote.

One of the detainees who died in custody was the son of Abdolhossein Rouhalamini, a top aide to conservative presidential candidate Mohsen Rezaei. Rouhalamini's death, two weeks after he was arrested, sparked anger even among government supporters.

Comments

[PhilipTaylor]

04:51 AM on 03/17/2010

IT IS NOT JUST 1RAN --- L1MB0 - HOW L0W CAN AMER1CA GO?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4omuGKNeKrQ

[BiBiJan]

06:35 AM on 03/11/2010

Did anyone notice the story tags:

Read More: Iran, Iran Election Protests, Iran Election Protests Deaths, Iran Election Protests Torture, Iran Elections, Iran Elections Torture, Iran Torture, Iran Torture Trial, Iran Torture Trials, World News

The story is not about torture, torturers, prisons where torture occured. Oh no. The story is about Iran.

Consequently, no compares, and no contrasts.

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/03/09/iran/index.html

[infidel2]

01:16 AM on 03/10/2010

Even if the mullahs decide to sacrifice some innocents to appease public opinion, nothing will change & torture & rape will continue . The only solution is to dethrone the mullahs, remove the theocracy & install a true democracy. ....Support the will of the people! Stand for a free Iran!

[waldopepper]

11:23 PM on 03/09/2010

Hiring a lawyer in Iran? Is a waste of money.

[Spirited Away]

10:24 PM on 03/09/2010

Is the Iranian judiciary independent enough so that conflict of interest will not impair its judgment of a case such as this suit?

[MK]

09:37 PM on 03/09/2010

So let me get this straight. Iran can bring torturers to justice but we can't. I'll keep this in mind the next time I'm told to fear the Iranians. They sound more advanced than we are.

[wereeverywhere]

09:57 PM on 03/09/2010

Remember when the US brought Liddie England, or whatever the freak with the leash was named, to trial? Low level or relatively low level grunts catching flak for crimes that go to the top of the leadership of the country is hardly justice whether in US or IRI. Add to the IRI situation the world's biggest mass arrest of journalists and you get a formula for scapegoats or punishment for the expendable. It's beyond time for a real system of international justice.

[Richard Pearce]

11:45 PM on 03/09/2010

It is funny that a country that has not signed to convention against torture is prosecuting some torturers, and closed the facility where it was done.

Then there is a country not that far away, which has signed that convention, which doesn't prosecute their own torturers, and ignores one of the key provisions of that agreement.

And then there is a third country a long way away, which has also signed that convention, has prosecuted a few of their own torturers, but also ignores that same key provision of that agreement.

[rigmoten]

09:32 PM on 03/09/2010

Obama: I will not negotiate with the Iranians until the move forward and stop dwelling on the past.

[rigmoten]

09:31 PM on 03/09/2010

Ugh, it didn't make it past the gMODS.

[blogisti]

09:16 PM on 03/09/2010

The people of Iran demanded the torturers be punished. In America the people give everything a pass. Justice is a joke. The people aren't particularly interested in it. They just want to carry guns around and pretend America is still the old west. Pretend, that's what America does best. Pretend there's justice. Pretend there's equality. Pretend the two wars aren't happening. Pretend the people aren't being fleeced. Pretend your education system still works. Pretend you don't have 50 million poor. Pretend one in four children isn't on food stamps. Pretend your not a banana republic. Pretend you still have a constitution. Pretend the politicians are still working for you. Pretend there's nothing you can do about anything.

[Mikeeee]

08:52 PM on 03/09/2010

I offer this and ask O by what sense of justice he can come to the conclusion that bushco shouldn't be handed over to the World Court in the Hague. If they're found innocent, they'll be returned, unharmed and able to continue their lives unfettered.
http://www.salon.com/news/torture/index.html?story=/news/feature/2010/03/09/waterboarding_for_dummies

[DimBulb2]

08:48 PM on 03/09/2010

What's a little EnhancedInterrogation between friends?

[Balzac]

08:01 PM on 03/09/2010

It's a good thing there's are legal consequences. I hope for more legal action to protect the dissidents and the civil discourse in Iran.

[alysheba 3]

09:20 PM on 03/09/2010

And what about legal consequences to protect the innocents that Bush and Co. threw into Gitmo?

I forgot, Americans can do no wrong.

[Balzac]

09:49 PM on 03/09/2010

I'm way ahead of you on that.

[totaldisbelief]

06:11 PM on 03/09/2010

?? Iran can have torture trials and we can't??

[Johnnyash]

06:31 PM on 03/09/2010

You got here first - I was about to post pretty much the same thing - what a strange world we live in - perhaps we should send Rumsfeld and the Cheney's over to Iran for proper justice

[cybexg]

06:45 PM on 03/09/2010

but it won't be for those actually in power....do you really want a bunch of trials holding some peons responsible for all the evils?

[alysheba 3]

07:24 PM on 03/09/2010

There is no proof that Iranian government officials are responsible. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and their gang........................lotsa proof as they defended the torture and their names are on papers approving it.