Iranian President Calls for Prosecution of Opposition Leaders
By VOA News
28 August 2009
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for the prosecution of the opposition leaders who led the unrest that followed his re-election in June.
In a nationally-broadcast speech Friday in the capital, Tehran, the president said the opposition leaders should face "serious confrontation" and be held accountable for "carrying out the enemy's plan."
He said lower-level opposition activists who are being tried for their alleged roles in the unrest should be treated with Islamic mercy, saying they had been deceived into taking part.
Thousands of Iranians were arrested for allegedly protesting the re-election of President Ahmadinejad. Many remain on trial for alleged crimes against the state.
One of those, prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani was released from prison on bail, Wednesday. He says he is pursuing charges against the judges and prosecutors who jailed him.
Soltani told VOA Persian service in a phone interview Thursday that the charges against him are not based on Iranian law.
Soltani was detained June 16 for allegedly participating in the unrest, and was later accused by a judge, Martin Rasekh, of having doubts about Iran's June presidential election.
He said that several months ago, he had filed a complaint against the same judge in a separate human rights case. Soltani said it is illegal to be prosecuted by the same judge.
A member of an Iranian parliamentary truth committee says some reformers jailed in the crackdown were raped in prison with batons or soda bottles. An unidentified lawmaker made the accusation this week on the official Web site (Parliament News) of the parliament's minority reformers. There was no immediate official response.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
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