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| Rezaei questions Iran trial motives |
| 2009-08-03 |
| One day after Iran opened a mass trial of more than 100 opposition figures, defeated presidential candidate Mohsen Rezaei questions the fairness of the move, calling for a trial of the security forces who broke the law. The first court session for opposition activists and protesters convened in Tehran on Saturday only days before President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is scheduled to be sworn in for a second term. The Saturday court charged several politicians, including former vice president Mohammad-Ali Abtahi, of planning the post-election riots ahead of the vote and sparking unrest through "allegations of vote fraud." In reaction to the trial, Secretary of the Expediency Council Rezaei adopted a critical stance over the handling of the cases of the post-vote detainees and questioned the true motive behind the timing of the court session. "Recent events which brought severe damage upon the nation and the Islamic Republic were caused by two groups; one group were rioters and the second group comprised of self-driven individuals and security forces who violated the law," Rezaei said in a letter to Iran's Judiciary Chief, Ayatollah Seyyed Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi, on Sunday. Rezaei, who challenged Ahmadinejad in the June 12 election, argued that with two types of defendants, the authorities should move to hold two types of court proceedings. "Otherwise justice and fairness will not be administered and it is even possible that insecurity does not come to an end and calm is not restored to the society," Rezaei warned. He said while Saturday's trial only dealt with the first group of the accused, the question remains as to when the second trial is set to begin and why it was not held at the same time with the first court session. Rezaei called on the country's judiciary chief to put to trial "the security forces who attacked Tehran University's dormitory and classes in Isfahan University", "those responsible for battering the prisoners including Mohsen Ruholamini", and "those responsible for assaulting peaceful protestors in the street". Rezaei, who was the chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps for sixteen years, called for the second trial as police chief Ismail Ahmadi-Moqaddam acknowledged in July that some law enforcement officers went to "extremes" during the post-election protests. "Some of our officers went to extremes during these events and caused damage while pursuing protestors," Brig. Gen. Ahmadi-Moqaddam conceded, vowing to 'deal firmly' with the officers who had broken the rules. Reformists were quick to condemn the trial as a sham staged by supporters of the incumbent president. After the disputed vote in June, Iran witnessed widespread protests as supporters of defeated presidential candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi took to the streets to protest Ahmadinejad's re-election as president with a massive margin. At least 30 people were killed and hundreds of others injured in the course of the protests staged by supporters of the opposition who dismiss the official election results as "fraudulent" and call for its annulment. Iranian authorities argue that foreign agents fueled the post-vote violence, causing the deaths. |
| Posted by:Fred |