http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=300203&version=1&template_id=37&parent_id=17
Latest Update: Tuesday30/6/2009June, 2009, 12:21 AM Doha Time President seeks Neda death probe Agencies/Tehran Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for a probe into the death of Neda Agha-Soltan, a woman whose killing during a protest rally in Tehran generated an international outcry. "Given the many fabricated reports around this heartbreaking incident and the widespread propaganda by the foreign media... it seems there is clear interference by the enemies of Iran who want to misuse the situation politically and tarnish the clean image of the Islamic Republic," he said in a letter to judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi said. "Therefore I am asking you to order the judicial authorities to probe the killing of this woman with utmost seriousness and identify and prosecute the elements behind the killing," he said in the letter published by the Isna news agency. Neda became an icon for the opposition which is protesting Ahmadinejad's re-election, after an Internet video showing her final moments was seen around the world. Neda, a 26-year-old music student, was shot on June 20, when supporters of defeated election candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi clashed with riot police and Basij militiamen in Tehran. State media said at least 10 people died on that day, blaming the violence on "terrorists" and "vandals". Mousavi says the vote was rigged in Ahmadinejad's favour and wants the election to be annulled. The authorities reject the charge. Iranian state television has said Neda was not shot by a bullet used by Iranian security forces. It said filming of the scene, and its swift broadcast to foreign media, suggested the incident was planned. In his letter to Shahroudi, Ahmadinejad termed Neda's death "suspicious," Irna said. Last week, Britain's The Times newspaper identified one person captured on Internet videos helping Neda as a doctor who has since fled Iran. It quoted the man, 38-year-old Dr Arash Hejazi, as saying she was killed by a government militiaman. The commander of the pro-government Basij militia, which says eight of its members have been killed during the unrest, said a number of people had been arrested who had put on Basij or police uniforms to engage in sabotage, Irna said. "The police arrested various individuals in the course of the unrest who had put on police or Basij uniforms," said Hojjatoleslam Hussein Taeb. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
