Karoubi Responds to Larijani: I Have Proof of Prisoner Abuse
Karoubi: I have factual evidence and [unlike Larijani] I am not afraid of losing my positions and titles.
Karoubi in an interview with Saham News: “Mr. Rafsanjani passed on the letter to Mr. Shahroudi [the head of the judiciary] and he has ordered an investigation into the claims put forth in this letter. Also, Mr. Dorri Najaf Abadi, the head of the supreme court wants to contact me to inform me that he will send individuals to meet me, so that I can inform them of what I know.”
“I had a number of reasons to write this letter to Mr. Rafsanjani. First of all, I know that he has close contact with the leader and thus will inform him of these matters. At the same time, Mr. Rafsanjani himself is critical of what has been going on and even called for the release of the prisoners during his sermon during the Friday prayer. I had written to the head of the judiciary and the interior minister in the past few weeks, so I decided to write the head of the Expediency Council and the Assembly of Experts [Rafsanjani] as well. I have known Mr. Rafsanjani since before the revolution, we are friends and I know that he is in a position to maybe do something about this case. When I sent him this letter, I thought that he would respond right away. But after ten days, I did not hear back. I do not have any complaints. Rather, I thought that maybe due to the circumstances that he himself is in, he did not want to get into this mess, and I published this letter because of the information I am constantly getting that is making me very worried.”
“Why are they creating an atmosphere of fear and terror where people are not allowed to come forth with their claims? Isn’t it better to investigate these claims than to utter meaningless profanity and say that the contents of my letter are lies when the investigative panel hasn’t even been fully formed yet? I think officials should be greatly saddened by the news of such dilemmas. Look at the atmosphere you’ve created, people who have been hurt are scared to speak out, and might even be in such dire conditions that they’re willing to say that they were being taught prayers in prison, instead of being tortured.”
He continued: “In a society where the chain murders occur, where they kill people and throw their corpses out on the street, or in a society where Mostafa Molayi, the head of my office, is kidnapped, thrown into a huge sack and beaten, how can people have the courage to come and speak out? I am very, very sad that they torture those who have come into the streets in protest. I have heard that they have stripped some prisoners and forced them on their hands and knees and then attempted to ride on their back and forced them to make animal sounds. They have stripped others and forced them on top of each other and then sprayed them with water. I am ashamed to say such things. This is a great shame for the Islamic Republic. Do not forget that we live in a society where a woman like Zahra Bani Yaghoub is arrested on charges of adultery and then her body is given back to her family. Are you going to deny these realities? Today, without investigating these claims, without trying to prove or refute these claims, you rise to defend your actions?”
“I suggested that I could bear the responsibility of investigation these matters. Even though I would not be proud of heading such an investigation and it will only make me suffer. But I plan to seek the truth, to form a neutral, fair panel so that those who have seen harm can come out and tell their stories, so that the root cause of this corrupt behavior is found and destroyed. Not to have the responsible parties in parliament refute everything in this letter in 24 hours and even before a panel can be formed. I have deep respect for Mr. Larijani, the speaker of parliament, and his father and his father-in-law and also for Mr. Boroujerdi who heads the national security committee in parliament. But I ask of them: why don’t you at least give me a call before you completely deny these allegations? Maybe I could send a few people to you, maybe I know a few things. How can you call these charges blatant lies if you have not even carried out minimum investigation to see whether those claiming these things are only doing so for their own amusement, or whether they may have truths to offer?”
“How can others attempt to look into this matter, when someone in the position of parliament speaker [Larijani], a position I myself have held, denies these accusations without any investigation? I feel that these hasty remarks were made under pressure. Because these esteemed individuals [like Larijani] fear that they will have the same fate as some of their friends. Mr. Larijani fears that he will end up like Mr. Haddad Adel [former speaker, who openly fell out with Ahmadinejad on a few occasions] and lose out on heading parliament. Mr. Boroujerdi is afraid of ending up like friends such as Emad Afrough [hardline MP who has been very critical of Ahmadinejad] who was forced to lose his position on the committee. Or, even end up like Mr. Ansari or Mohtashamipour [centrist MPs who were disqualified by the Guardian Council for running a second term.] Why have they created a situation where even a person like Ali Motahari is attacked for speaking out?”
“They should not have taken a stance so quickly, maybe it would have been better to at least do what Mr. Shahroudi [head of the judiciary] did and to form an investigative body to question me. Not to have Mr. Boroujerdi on TV forty times [denying these allegations] but not to allow me to go on even once. It would have been better for Mr. Larijani to send this investigative committee to me, so I can inform them of everything I know. I am telling the officials right now, this pressure and this profanity is not going to silence me. I have heard a lot of this in the past twenty years, and until I have life in me, I will continue to fight for the rights of my people.
Speaker or Agency: Mehdi Karroubi
Title:
Language: English and Persian
Western Date: 13 August 2009
Persian Date: 22 Mordad 1388
Physical/Electronic Location: http://khordaad88.com/?p=196; http://mowjcamp.com/article/id/17926
Citation or official document code:
Translator:
Date Translated:
Tags: karroubi, larijani
Date Last Updated: 12 February 2010