Meeting with a group of university students on Wednesday, the supreme leader of Islamic republic confirmed that “violations and crimes had been committed during post-June 12 election events, especially at the Kahrizak detention facility and on the attack on Tehran University dormitories by special police units and plain-clothed officers,” but added that those crimes were trivial when compared to “the injustice that some did to the regime.” 

Despite the leader’s acknowledgment that criminal acts were committed at the detention facility and during the suppression of popular protests, supporters of the government continue to deny allegations of rape first revealed in Mehdi Karoubi’s letter. 

Acknowledging the requests of some students to prosecute those responsible for attacking Tehran University’s dormitories and committing crimes at the Kahrizak facility, ayatollah Khamenei said on Wednesday, “Violations and crimes have taken place during post-election events which will definitely be confronted.”  At the same time, he asked that news and reports related to such crimes not be published by the media, adding, “Advertising is not needed in dealing with violators. Orders had been given from the first day to exercise care and caution and decisively confront such issues.” 

Commenting on the attack of special police units and plain-clothed officers on Tehran University dormitories on June 14, he said “In the university dormitory event, a major violation took place, for which a special investigation has been opened so that violators are punished regardless of their institutional affiliations.” 

He also confirmed the death of some detainees at the Kahrizak detention facility, calling for the treatment of those injured at the facility as well as “investigating the cases of the few people who lost their lives.”  At the same time, he warned, “These kinds of issues must not be mixed with the main post-election issue.” 

According to the leader of the Islamic regime, the “main” post-election issue was the “injustice of some toward the Islamic system.”  He warned, “Some ignore the great injustice that was inflicted after the election on the people and the Islamic regime, and the loss of the regime’s respect in front of other nations.  They regard Kahrizak or the Tehran University dormitory as the main issue, but such a view is a clear injustice in itself.” 

He added, “I do not accuse the leaders of these recent events of being lackeys of foreigners, including America and England, since this has not been proven to me.  But there is no doubt that this matter, whether its leaders know it or not, was planned in advance… the core of the post-election events was not very surprising, but that certain individuals would play a role in these events was surprising to us.”

Kahrizak’s Closure due to Murder or Rape?

Coinciding with these remarks by Iran’s leader, Parleman News website, the vocie of the minority reformist faction in the Majlis, revealed yesterday that the Kahrizak detention facility was closed after the issue of detainee rapes was revealed to the leader. 

According to the website, “The direct testimony by a victim journalist of events that transpired at Kahrizak to one of the regime’s senior officials played a role in the facility’s closure.”  The phrase “one of the regime’s senior officials” is usually used by domestic media networks as a reference to the leader of the Islamic republic. 

According to Parleman News, “This journalist, who wishes to remain anonymous, was arrested during the post-election protests and released two weeks later, after senior members of this senior regime officials’ office became aware of his detention, due to their several-year relationship.  According to reports, when this journalist visited the senior regime official and was invited to sit down, he said that he could not sit and when he was asked why he explained that he had been repeatedly sodomized by a baton. After his remarks, this senior regime official became extremely upset.” 

The website reports, “Two days after that event and after further information and evidence was gathered regarding the unlawful and inhumane violations at the Kahrizak facility, this detention facility that was run by the police was ordered to be shut.”

Rape with Batons and Soda Bottles

On Wednesday, a member of the special Majlis investigative committee announced, “The sodomy committed on some prisoners with batons and soda bottles detained in the post-election events has been proven to us.” 

This lawmaker told the Parleman News website, “We will present our report to the Majlis speaker and other senior state officials after completing our report on the rape of detainees in detention facilities.”

Nevertheless, other lawmakers who were supposed to investigate the conditions of detainees and detention facilities say that they have not yet reached any conclusions.  Clearly, after their recent remarks on detainees and the condition of detention facilities, several of these lawmakers, including Farhad Tajari and Alaeddin Boroujerdi, are themselves now accused of cooperating with the security apparatus rather than seeking the truth.

Yesterday it was announced that a number of Majlis lawmakers had criticized the composition and membership of the committee seeking to investigate the condition of detainees and detention facilities. 

While Farhad Tajari, Alaeddin Boroujerdi and Parviz Sarvari, all members of the investigative committee, report every day in interviews that political detainees and detention facilities are in excellent condition, and deny all allegations and news of rape, torture and mass burials, some conservative Majlis lawmakers including Ali Motahari, Hamid Reza Katouzian and Omidvar Rezaei have criticized such remarks and seek to gain membership into the committee by lobbying Majlis speaker Ali Larijani. 

One lawmaker who belongs to the majority faction in the Majlis criticized the committee members’ lack of fairness and revealed that he had relayed the story of a family whose son was raped at a detention facility to the committee members, but that they had treated the story with indifference.  He told the Parleman News website, “After hearing the family’s story, I put them in touch with one committee member to investigate the case and review it to complete the committee’s report.  After a few days, the committee member contacted me and said that the family had spoken to foreign media outlets and does not have evidence.” 

This lawmaker added that the family has told him it has not had any contacts with foreign media outlets, and that its problems had increased since contacting lawmakers about the issue.