Posted on 06/24/2009 1:49:44 PM PDT by Steelfish
June 24, 2009
Saeed Mortazavi: butcher of the press - and torturer of Tehran?
Jenny Booth and James Hider
The Iranian regime has appointed one of its most feared prosecutors to interrogate reformists arrested during demonstrations, prompting fears of a brutal crackdown against dissent.
Relatives of several detained protesters have confirmed that the interrogation of prisoners is now being headed by Saaed Mortazavi, a figure known in Iran as “the butcher of the press”. He gained notoriety for his role in the death of a Canadian-Iranian photographer who was tortured, beaten and raped during her detention in 2003.
“The leading role of Saeed Mortazavi in the crackdown in Tehran should set off alarm bells for anyone familiar with his record,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East and North Africa director of Human Rights Watch.
As prosecutor-general of Tehran since 2003 and as a judge before that, he ordered the closure of more than 100 newspapers, journals and websites deemed hostile to the Establishment.
In 2004 he was behind the detention of more than 20 bloggers and journalists, who were held for long periods of solitary confinement in secret prisons, where they were allegedly coerced into signing false confessions.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
If the Iranian thugs had put panties on the protestor’s head, or stacked them in a cheerleader pyramid, and Cheney was involved, zero b. Hussien, MSNBC and the rest would be really pissed.
ping
He is also the jackal that “tried” the students from the last time they rose up in protest.
Bump
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