Saeed Mortazavi, the chief suspect in the case of detainee deaths at Kahrizak Prison, has once again expressed discontent with the proceedings brought against him and maintained that he is the victim of political machinations.
The former Tehran Prosecutor says the court dealing with his case lacks competence to handle the file, adding that he will not abide by any of the court’s rulings against him.
He claims that the judge has not called for any explanations from the witnesses that he has presented to the court.
Saeed Mortazavi is charged with “complicity in murder, illegal arrests and filing false reports.”
In his defence statement, Mortazavi has claimed that the three victims allegedly killed under torture at Kahrizak did not suffer injuries in prison but were in fact injured in the course of street protests before their arrest.
His statements do not correspond, however, with the findings of the parliamentary probe into the deaths of three detainees: Mohsen Ruholamini, Amir Javadifar and Mohammad Kamrani.
The family of Mohammad Kamrani has reported after the 11th session of the court that Saeed Mortazavi and his assistant, Ali Akbar Heydarifar, apologized to him for the death of his son.
The three victims were arrested in 2009 during election protests and were later reported dead by prison authorities. A parliamentary probe into the matter has confirmed that the detainees were subjected to torture and that the Tehran Prosecutor at the time, his assistant and Judge Haddad were involved in the transfer of the detainees to the Kahrizak facilities, knowing that they would be abused.
Kahrizak Prison was shut down after the death of three detainees hit the media.