Iran sentences 2 suspects to death in case of prison slayings of anti-government protesters

Iran sentences 2 to death in prisoner slayings

TEHRAN, Iran — An Iranian military court has convicted and sentenced to death two suspects charged with torturing and killing three anti-government protesters in prison, the country’s judiciary said Wednesday.

The announced verdicts were the first in a case that significantly embarrassed Iranian authorities and drew some of the fiercest criticism against the government over its treatment of protesters in the turmoil following last June’s disputed presidential election.

Those killed included 24-year-old Mohsen Rouhalamini, the son of a prominent conservative figure. His death sparked an outcry even among government supporters. The two other victims were identified as Amir Javadifar and Mohammad Kamrani.

Authorities initially denied the abuse claims, accusing the opposition of running a campaign of lies against the ruling system.

But anger over the abuse emerged in August, after influential conservative figures in the clerical hierarchy condemned the mistreatment of detainees. The outrage forced Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to order the immediate closure of the Kahrizak prison where they had been held.

A report on the Iranian judiciary’s website said the military court also had sentenced nine other suspects in the case to flogging or prison terms, while one person was acquitted.

No details were released on the identities of the suspects or when the verdict was handed down.

Iran last year said it had charged 12 officers implicated in the Kahrizak case. Their trial was later reported to have started in March. Iran’s military courts are the ones that usually try policemen and military personnel.

The state IRNA news agency subsequently said a judge has banned reporting details of the trial.

In January, a parliamentary probe found a former Tehran prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi, responsible for the torture deaths of the three in Kahrizak. There has been no word of any action to punish Mortazavi, who became the head of a government body tasked with fighting smuggling of goods.

The judiciary said Wednesday that the court has studied cases of more than 60 other people over separate cases of mistreatment of protesters, and that 33 of them would go on trial.

Hundreds of protesters and opposition activists were arrested in the government crackdown following the disputed June 2009 election, which the opposition says President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won through massive vote fraud.

The opposition says more than 80 protesters have been killed in the postelection crackdown, but the government has confirmed around 30 deaths. More than 100 protesters, activists and pro-reform opposition have been on trial, accused of fueling the protests and being part of a plot to overthrow the government.