http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=125955&d=31&m=8&y=2009
Monday 31 August 2009 (10 Ramadan 1430)
Tehran's prosecutor removed
Zahra Hosseinian | Reuters
TEHRAN: Iran's new judiciary chief has replaced a hard-line prosecutor who
played a key role in the mass trials of leading reformers arrested over unrest
that erupted after the disputed presidential election in June.
In another move that may be welcomed by moderates, the IRNA news agency said
judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani had ordered a probe into allegations
by defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karoubi that some opposition
protesters were raped in jail.
IRNA, Iran's official news agency, said late Saturday that Tehran prosecutor
Saeed Mortazavi had been replaced by Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi. The same news
agency later said Mortazavi had been appointed deputy prosecutor general.
It was unclear whether it would have any impact on the trials of more than 100
senior pro-reform figures, activists and others charged with inciting protests
after the election. Four such mass trials have been held in a Tehran court this
month.
IRNA did not give a reason for the decision by Larijani, who was appointed in
mid-August. Judiciary sources had told Reuters that Larijani had made
Mortazavi's replacement a condition for accepting the judiciary chief post.
