January 11, 2010

The FP: Iranian parliament holds senior official responsible for protester deaths


 
Monday, January 11, 2010
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Iranian parliament holds senior official responsible for protester deaths

Top Story: An a rare criticism of a senior government official, an Iranian parliamentary panel has accused former Tehran Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi, an ally of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, of complicity in the beating deaths of three opposition protesters last summer.

According to the report, Mortazavi ordered that 147 protesters be sent to Kahrizak prison near Tehran and insisted on "keeping them for four days in a space of 750 square feet, without ventilation in the heat of summer, lack of hygienic standards, food and water, in addition to beating and intimidation by prison guards." One of the protesters killed was the son of a senior member of the Revolutionary Guards. The report also dismissed Mortazavi's claim that the prisoners were killed in an outbreak of meningitis.

Mortazavi, who was well known for his crackdowns on opposition media and the jailing of journalists, was promoted to deputy state prosecutor in August. His arrest is likely an effort to pacify the opposition. Many Iranians were outraged when reports of prisoner abuse emerged last Summer. "Mortazavi is the highest official the parliament could accuse without getting in trouble," Abbas Abdi, a former journalist whose papers were closed by Mortazavi told the Washington Post.

Corruption: Thousands of Chinese officials have fled overseas with more than $50 billion in state funds, a new investigation finds.


Asia

  • Three U.S. service members were killed in fighting in Southern Afghanistan on Monday.
  • Two more churches were firebombed in Malaysia on Sunday, bringing to six the number attacked since a court ruling allowing non-Muslims to use the word "Allah" for God.
  • North Korea demanded the removal of sanctions before it returns to the six-paty nuclear talks.

Middle East

  • Israel plans to build a fence along its southern border with Egypt to prevent illegal immigration.
  • German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle made a surprise visit to Yemen.
  • Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, of the ruling family of the United Arab Emirates, was cleared on charges of torturing an Afghan merchant.

Europe

  • The Spanish government says it is finalizing plans to accept two inmates from Guantanamo Bay.
  • Social Democrat Ivo Josopovic was elected president of Croatia in a runoff.
  • Four of the most-wanted ETA suspects were arrested in France and Portugal.

Africa

  • Angola says it has arrested two people involved in last week's shooting attack on Togo's national soccer team.
  • Nigeria is struggling to maintain oil production after a pipeline was attacked last Friday.
  • Controversial Jamaican-born cleric Abdullah al-Faisal was returned to Kenya just days after he was deported.

Americas

  • Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez says he is deploying troops to make sure merchants don't raise prices.
  • A series of gruesome murders by drug cartels were discovered in Mexico's Chihuahua state over the weekend.
  • The death toll from Brazil's mudslides has risen to 76.

By Joshua Keating


ABOLFAZLE SALMANZADEH/AFP/Getty Images

An a rare criticism of a senior government official, an Iranian parliamentary panel has accused former Tehran Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi, an ally of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

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