Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Download MP3
A committee of the Iranian parliament has made a rare official criticism of treatment of opposition detainees held in the wake of the disputed election. The report said three detainees died at the notorious Kahrizak detention, and it blamed former Tehran prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi (pictured), who has since been moved to another job, though there is no word if any other action is being taken against him. Matthew Bell reports.
Read the Transcript
This text below is a phonetic transcript of a radio story broadcast by PRI’s THE WORLD. It has been created on deadline by a contractor for PRI. The transcript is included here to facilitate internet searches for audio content. Please report any transcribing errors to theworld@pri.org. This transcript may not be in its final form, and it may be updated. Please be aware that the authoritative record of material distributed by PRI’s THE WORLD is the program audio.
JEB SHARP: I’m Jeb Sharp. This is The World. Iran’s top prosecutor today called for strong action against those behind political unrest in the country. That’s a reference to opposition supporters who’ve taken to the streets several times since presidential elections last June. Many opposition members have ended up behind bars since then. There have been reports that those in jail have been beaten and in some cases raped. The government has long denied the charges. But also today, an Iranian parliamentary committee acknowledged some of that harsh treatment. Although the committee did not mention the alleged rapes, it said a former prosecutor was responsible for the deaths of three prisoners. The World’s Matthew Bell has the details.
MATTHEW BELL: The Iranian Parliamentary investigation singles out a notorious hardliner and former prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi. The report says Mortazavi knew that opposition protesters were being detained in harsh conditions, and that he was ultimately responsible for the deaths of three prisoners, including the son of a senior member of the Revolutionary Guards. Mortazavi had said that the prisoners died in custody because they had meningitis. But the head of the investigation, speaking in the Iranian Parliament today, said that’s not true.
KAZEM JALALI: [Speaking foreign language]
BELL: Kazem Jalali said the prisoners died for various reasons. They include overcrowding, poor sanitary conditions and lack of ventilation. But Jalali went on to say that prisoners were beaten and then ignored by guards. This public criticism represents a rare acknowledgement of wrongdoing from the Iranian government. By naming the former Tehran prosecutor, Mortazavi, the government also singled out a political ally of Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. In that sense, it suggests the government is aware of public pressure from Iranians who are deeply troubled by the violent crackdown on opposition supporters.
MEHRDAD KHONSARI: There’s no escaping from it.
BELL: Mehrdad Khonsari is with the Center for Arab and Iranian Studies in London.
KHONSARI: The regime is forced to try to portray itself as being even-handed and concerned about public protests regarding wrongdoings.
BELL: But Khonsari says he doubts this signals anything like a change of heart among Iran’s hardline leaders. He points out that Mortazavi has not been charged with a crime, and that the former prosecutor is someone who’s made a name for himself as a radical rising star within the Islamic judicial system. Khonsari says it’s unlikely Mortazavi will end up getting more than a slap on the wrist.
KHONSARI: It is not in the mold of the regime to take backward steps of this nature because they’re afraid that if they drop their aggressiveness in one area, that that would lead to a domino that would force them to make concessions in other areas. And once that process begins, then they will lose everything.
BELL: Experts say the Islamic Republic of Iran is facing the most serious challenge since its creation in 1979. But Suzanne Maloney at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy in Washington says it’s very difficult to predict how that challenge is going to play out. And that, she says, makes things even more difficult for the Obama Administration as it confronts Iran over its nuclear program.
SUZANNE MALONEY: The difficulty is simply that there is a process of change underway in Iran and no one knows where it’s going to end and how. And so the regime that we have to deal with today, and I agree with many who say that we have to engage simply because this is such an urgent threat. That regime may not be in power in 18 months. I don’t think that’s a likelihood, but I think it’s a significant possibility.
BELL: Maloney says President Obama clearly wants to avoid misreading the situation in Iran as Jimmy Carter was guilty of in the late 1970s. Carter described Iran’s government as an island of stability. Eighteen months later, came the anti-American Islamic Revolution. For The World, I’m Matthew Bell.
Copyright ©2009 PRI’s THE WORLD. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to PRI’s THE WORLD. This transcript may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior written permission. For further information, please email The World’s Permissions Coordinator at theworld@pri.org.
Discussion
No comments for “Iranian lawmakers criticize treatment of opposition”