Iranian MP Mohammad Dehghan has dismissed the recent assertion that former Tehran prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi had been unaware of detainee transfers to Kahrizak Prison, saying: “I have no doubt that the transfer of detainees to Kahrizak was done in direct coordination with the Tehran Prosecutor at the time.”
Dehghan told the Khaneh Mellat website on Tuesday: “According to law and the direct orders of the head of judiciary, all Tehran detainees including the ones in Kahrizak were under supervision of the Tehran Prosecutor at the time, and the latter is responsible for everything that happened there at the time.”
Dehghan is referring to the case of three Kahrizak detainees who died under abuse and torture at Kahrizak Prison in June of 2009, when Saeed Mortazavi, who is currently facing charges of complicity in murder, was the Tehran Prosecutor.
At the end of the second session, the assistant prosecutor from that time, Ali Akbar Heydarifar, who is facing lesser charges in the case, announced that Mortazavi had been away at the time of the detainee transfers and that Heydarifar himself was responsible for approving their transfer.
Dehghan stressed that as a member of the Parliamentary Probe panel that investigated the Kahrizak events, he knows that some issues were evident and cannot be denied.
Dehghan said: “Some of the accused in the case are facing the charge of transferring detainees back in 2009 to a sub-standard facility without informing them of any charges and subjecting them to interrogations.”
He added: “The actions of the accused in the Kharizak case led to the death of a number of detainees as well as physical and psychological blows to others, which cannot be denied.”
He said the court must not deny victims’ families their right to justice and it must not be swayed by media tactics.
The families of the Kahrizak victims have had a hard time bringing Saeed Mortazavi to trial as he is a close ally of the president. The fourth session of the trial is scheduled for after the Iranian New Year holidays, which start on March 21.
