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Iran prosecutor removed by new judiciary head

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Iranian judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani has removed controversial Tehran Prosecutor General Saeed Mortazavi from office, according to state media reports Saturday. The reason for the dismissal is as yet unclear. Mortazavi was appointed as prosecutor general in 2003 and has been derisively called the "butcher of the press" and "torturer of Tehran" by reformists and critics because of his involvement in the closings of many media outlets and arrests of numerous journalists and political activists during his term. According to some reports, since August 1 Mortasavi had overseen the trials of over 100 individuals out of over 4,000 who were arrested during recent political protests. Mortasavi was previously implicated in questionable investigations into the death in detention of Iranian-Canadian photographer Zahra Kazemi. Kazemi was originally reported to have died of stroke but a later investigation revealed she died from a blow to the head. Larijani, who himself was appointed earlier this month amid protests over the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has choosen former provincial judiciary head Abbas Jafari Dolat-Abadi as Tehran's new prosecutor general.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on August 30, 2009 (boomark / email).