[Al Arabiya Latest] Iran's judiciary has launched a legal case against reformist cleric Mehdi Karoubi over his allegations that some imprisoned opposition supporters were raped, the official IRNA news agency reported on Tuesday.A special investigative committee had prepared a file into the case and sent it to the prosecutor's office, IRNA said.
"Karoubi is a cleric and his remarks should be studied at the special court for the clergy," said Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi. "Some people have also been summoned in connection with the case."
IRNA said: "A legal case prepared by the judicial investigative committee has been sent to the Tehran prosecutor over Karoubi's claims."
Karoubi, who finished fourth in the disputed June presidential election, angered hardliners in August by saying some people held in the street unrest that followed had been raped and abused in detention. Last month, the same judicial committee rejected Karoubi's allegation and called for libel charges to be considered against anyone making such claims.
Karoubi and another defeated candidate Mirhossein Mousavi say the poll was rigged to secure President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election. Officials reject the charge.
The election and its turbulent aftermath plunged Iran into its deepest internal crisis in the past three decades. Rights groups say thousands of people, including senior reformers, were arrested after the poll, though most have been freed.
Karoubi said in September he would not give up fighting for rights of dozens of people complaining of mistreatment after being jailed. Hardliners have called for Karoubi to be arrested or charged if he fails to back up his accusations.
The opposition says more than 70 people were killed in post-election unrest. Officials estimate the death toll at up to 36 people including members of the Islamic Basij militia.
The authorities have portrayed the opposition protests as a foreign-backed bid to undermine the Islamic government system.