Iranian protesters families may pardon convicted guards

Kahrizak Detention Centre

Mehr news agency reports that the two guards sentenced to death for beating prisoners to death at Kahrizak Prison will probably be pardoned by the families of the victims.

Mehr news reports that a “knowledgeable source” informed them that the families of Mohsen Ruholamini, Mohammad Kamrani and Amir Javadifar, the three detainees that were beaten to death at Kahrizak last summer, will probably pardon the two prison guards that were found guilty of the murder of their children.

In July, Ebrahim Mohammadian and Mohammad Khamisabadi were found guilty of murder at Kahrizak and sentence to death.

Mehr reports that according to their source the family have welcomed the recent news that three senior judiciary officials have been suspended over their involvement in the Kahrizak deaths and have expressed their wishes that this new file will take its intended course without delays.

Yesterday Mehr news agency reported that the special court for judges has issued an order to suspend three senior members of Tehran’s prosecutor’s office in order to face the charges brought up against them in the Kahrizak case as ordinary citizens.

The opposition has identified the three judiciary figures as former Tehran prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi, assistant prosecutor, AliAkbar Heydarifard, and Judge Haddad.

Heydarifard issued a letter condemning the suspension as an “unjust and unprecedented move.”

He adds that Kahrizak was a legal detention centre and contends that the suspension is a “political and factional” manoeuvre that “in an unprecedented manner undermines the dignity of Tehran’s special security judges in the media and public minds.”

Last summer, a number of protesters against the alleged vote fraud that returned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power in the presidential elections who were arrested by the security forces, were sent to Kahrizak detention centre where they were severely abused by the guards and at least three of them were beaten to death.

The former Prosecutor of Tehran, Saeed Mortazavi first tried to cover up the deaths by announcing that they were caused by meningitis.

The centre was closed by the order of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, after the scandal blew out of hand.

The authorities did not acknowledge the wrongdoings until public pressure forced a parliamentary probe to confirm the violations committed by the guards.

In July, two guards were sentenced to death but the authorities stress that they acted arbitrarily.

The families and the opposition have been demanding that charges be laid against the superiors of the case. Saeed Mortazavi, former Tehran prosecutor, has been repeatedly accused by the opposition of perpetrating the crimes by ordering the transfer of the detainees to this location.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ignored the allegations against Mortazavi, who is a staunch Ahmadinejad supporter, by appointing him head of the Task Force to Combat Smuggling after he was dismissed from his position as Tehran's prosecutor.

However, the case against Mortazavi is being pushed even by conservative members of the Islamic Republic establishment.

In the meantime, the state-backed Keyhan newspaper reported today that Iran’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veteran Affairs has announced Mohammad Kamrani, Mohsen Ruholamini and Amir Javadifar as “martyrs.”

The move means that the family of the victims will be offered various benefits by the foundation.