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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | ||
| Ali Larijani: It never happened! You are ordered to believe me! Lies! | ||
| 2009-08-12 | ||
| The speaker of Iran's parliament has dismissed claims by a defeated presidential candidate that opposition protesters were raped in detention. "Based on parliament's investigations, detainees have not been raped or sexually abused in Iran's Kahrizak and Evin prisons," Ali Larijani said.
On Tuesday, Iran's authorities said 4,000 people had been detained during the mass protests that broke out in the wake of the 12 June presidential poll, which the opposition says was rigged. The number was much higher than previous figures, although the authorities said 3,700 of them had been released within a few days of arrest. Opposition leaders say 69 protesters died in the post-election violence - more than double the official figure of about 30 fatalities. The conditions under which detained protesters have been held has been controversial, with damaging claims forcing authorities to act. The Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, closed the notorious Kahrizak detention center saying it had failed to "preserve the detainees' rights". Police officials have admitted that some of those held since June might have been tortured. Both the Iranian parliament and judiciary have established committees to investigate the post-election unrest and the government's response. Iran is currently trying more than 100 detainees over their alleged involvement in the protests. The trials - of leading opposition figures, activists, journalists, lawyers, workers at foreign embassies and two people with foreign nationalities - have been criticized by several foreign powers, opposition groups and human rights campaigners. But authorities insist their legal proceedings are completely legitimate and conform to international standards of justice. | ||
| Posted by:3dc |
| #2 This is not what Larijani was saying 24 hrs ago. He must have found a horse's head in his bed. |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2009-08-12 13:20 |
| #1 Police and prison guard must belong to the same union as the Obama supporters. The step between this democracy and our is not a big one. We must be vigilant, always. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2009-08-12 11:23 |