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Iran: Protesters Were Tortured

Prosecutor general blamed Basij, Revolutionary Guard for 'painful accidents'

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 9, 2009 11:00 AM CDT

(Newser) – The Iranian prosecutor general admitted today that protesters arrested in the wake of the disputed presidential election were tortured, the New York Times reports. The comments by Qorbanali Dori-Najafabadi were the first official acknowledgments of torture made by an Iranian government official. Dori-Najafabadi blamed what he called a few “painful accidents” on the Basij militia and Revolutionary Guard, which made many of the arrests.

The judiciary took charge of the arrest and detention of protesters last month and has since sought to humanize the treatment of prisoners, Dori-Najafabadi said. He called for those involved in torture “to be punished,” singling out in particular the “Kahrizak incident,” in which several detainees were killed at Kahrizak detention center in Tehran.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

Local staff member of the French Embassy in Tehran, Nazak Afshar, weeps at the court room in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/ILNA, Hanif Shoaee)

Anti-government Iranian protesters chant slogans as a public trash dumpster is set on fire during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, July 30, 2009. (AP Photo)

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Maybe there were cases of torture in the early days after the election. But we are willing to follow up any complaints or irregularities that have taken place.
- Qorbanali Dori-Najafabadi, Iranian prosecutor general

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 6 comments

JonmarkP

Aug 10, 2009 2:58 AM CDT

Did they send them to the US to be tortured, as a professional courtesy?

Spudsy

Aug 10, 2009 2:35 AM CDT

Yeah, Bush is leaving one nasty legacy. So Reader 606etc, should the US have set up death camps for German citizens in WW2?

justme

Aug 9, 2009 11:33 AM CDT

Liberaljesus, Are you really putting the Iranian regime on a par with the US (even the dreaded Bush administration)? Get your head out of the sand and recognize that the US is one of the freest nations in the world. Our people, meaning you and everyone else , have more rights than the vast majority of people around the world. The people of Iran can only dream of the freedom we enjoy every day. We did not invent torture. We just agonize about it in ways that make most of our enemies laugh.

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Iran: Protesters Were Tortured