Karroubi. In the eye of the storm
Photo: AFP
Rezai. 'Resign and be tried'
Photo: Reuters
Larijani. 'Accusations unfounded'
Photo: Reuters
Iranian opposition insists none raped in prison
Parliament denies claim that imprisoned protestors from anti-election rallies brutally raped by authorities, calls on politicians to fully check claims before publishing them in media
Conservative candidate Mohsen Rezai, one of the defeated Iranian presidential candidates and one of the more prominent critics of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
said that if the reports about abuse of prisoners detained following the protests of the disputed presidential election
are indeed true "all responsible parties must resign and be put on trial."
Regime officials have vehemently denied such reports.
United Nations
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Conservative candidate Mohsen Rezai, did not indicate which, in his opinion, figures must take responsibility for the alleged abuse. He said, however, that a "national mourning should be declared" should the reports prove to be true.
The rape allegations arose from allegations made by defeated pro-reform presidential candidate Mahdi Karroubi. He said he has received reports from former military commanders and other senior officials that male and female prisoners were savagely raped by their jailers to the point of physical and mental damage.
Karroubi published an open letter on his website that he sent to Assembly of Experts Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in which he claimed that "a number of senior officials told me the most shameful things. Male and female detainees were raped in such a way that caused them serious injuries."
Iran's state media said the parliament speaker is denying allegations that protesters detained after the disputed presidential election were raped by their jailers.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani denied the accusations, telling an open session of parliament Wednesday that a parliamentary investigation found no truth in the rape allegations. Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani denied accusations made by the opposition that protestors arrested following the controversial presidential elections were brutally raped in jail, calling it a "lie."
Larijani added that a committee of inquiry looking into the conditions of the detainees "did not find any cases of rape or sexual exploitation."
The speed of the investigation and the quick denial is being seen as an effort by hard-liners to discredit the allegations made by reformist opponents.
The conservative newspaper, Kayhan, considered the mouthpiece for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, attacked Karroubi on Wednesday and demanded that he be punished. The newspaper's editor wrote, "If he does not prevent evidence, which he does not and will not have, he must be punished without delay."
According to the editor, "The main objective of the letter was to stain Islam and the Revolution, and it was directed mainly to the foreign world and the media."
Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report
