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2009-08-27 Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Rafsanjani's son denies part in embezzlement plot

[Iran Press TV] After one of the defendants standing trial for Iran's post-vote unrest implicated the son of influential cleric Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani in an embezzlement plot, the top official's son moves to deny the accusation.

During the fourth round of the mass trials held for post-election detainees on Tuesday, defendant Hamzeh Karami told the court that about $2 million of the assets of the Iranian Fuel Conservation Organization -- which was headed by Mehdi Hashemi-Rafsanjani at the time -- were used to finance his father's presidential campaign in 2005.

"Mehdi Hashemi believed that the elections in Iran were financed with government funds. He did not believe in spending private savings for the election. So they set up a system for forgery and falsification of documents," Karami claimed.

Mehdi Hashemi-Rafsanjani in a letter to the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) Ezzatollah Zarghami categorically denied the allegation, saying it was an "outright lie."

The son of the former two-time president questioned the credibility of the court and the confessions made in the session by stressing the fact that Karami "stood trial on Tuesday without a defense attorney after having spent over 70 days in solitary."

He explained that the conditions under which the court session was held was against a law mentioned in clause 1 of the Article 188 of the Constitution of the Islamic Revolution.

Mehdi Hashemi went on to deny the allegations levelled against him by arguing that establishing a system for forgery and document falsification as mentioned by Karami in Iran's Fuel Conservation Organization is "impossible" as the body's financial activities are under strict supervision of senior authorities in the country.

"Over the past four years after I left the organization, Audit Commissions in Iran have made several formal assessments on the existing documents on the body's annual costs," said Hashemi, adding that publicizing a charge which is yet to be proven is a crime and the person responsible for the matter can be taken to court.

Hashemi went on to urge an investigation not only into claims made about the $2 million from the IFCO's assets but also into an alleged $340 million which went missing in the same year from the assets of Tehran's municipality.

Mehdi Hashemi linked the accusations made against him to a complaint lodged by the Hashemi family against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"It is worthy of note that this move has only taken place after the family of Ayatollah Hashemi-Rafsanajni sent a complaint against Mr. Ahmadinejad to the Judiciary," he wrote in his letter.

The son of the head of the Assembly of Experts went on to call on Iran's state broadcaster to provide him with sufficient airtime so that he can defend himself against the cited accusations publicized on the IRIB.

Posted by Fred 2009-08-27 00:00|| E-Mail|| Front Page|| [257 views ] Top File under: Govt of Iran

#1 Subtext: Khatami v Rafsanjani

Posted by Victor Emmanuel Spusort9161 2009-08-27 17:07|| 2009-08-27 17:07|| Front Page Top

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