Tuesday
Feb162010
Iran: Why The Beating of Mehdi Karroubi's Son Matters
Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 8:43 
Mr Verde writes for EA:Imagine for a moment that the son or daughter of a Presidential or Prime Ministerial candidate in the US or Britain had been taken away by plainclothes security forces and kept in an unknown locations for days. Imagine that he or she had been beaten and threatened with rape. Think of the headlines and furour.
Consider that this is what allegedly occurred in Tehran last Thursday. According to the son of Mehdi Karoubi, Hossein, his younger brother Ali was detained when Karroubi's entourage was confronted by security forces. Fatemeh Karroubi, Ali's mother, has written an open letter to the Supreme Leader, detailing the claimed torture and rape threats, which allegedly took place in a mosque. Ali Karroubi’s wife, Nafiseh Panahi, has said that her husband suffered a broken arm and fractured skull.
The Latest from Iran (16 February): Un-Diplomatic Declarations
The response of the regime? Tehran’s Prosecutor General, Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi stated that there was no warrant for the arrest of Ali Karrroubi and that he concluded, from his enquiries of the police, intelligence agencies and Revolutionary Guards, that such a person was never detained. He added that Ali Karroubi shoulld prove his allegation by stating why he was detained and where. (Fatemeh Karroubi had already stated in her letter that the location of the alleged detention and abuse was Amir-al-Momenin Mosque in Tehran. It should also be noted that it is normally the arresting party who puts forth a reason for detention, not the suspect.)
With the Prosecutor’s denial of any such detention, let's work through the scenarios:
1. Ali Karroubi was never touched by anyone and the entire story is a fabrication. In that case, his brother Hossein, his mother, his wife, and he should be arrested immediately: the first three for lying and Ali for posing in a photo with the alleged bruises. (Many people have been arrested and handed harsh sentences for allegedly causing far less damage to the Islamic Republic’s reputation than alleging torture and threat to rape in a mosque.)
2. Someone other than the Iranian authorities kidnapped and tortured Ali Karroubi. Hossein Karroubi says that Ali Karroubi was snatched in the Sadeghiyeh area, just north of Azadi Square where the official 22 Bahman event was taking place. There is also footage of Mehdi Karroubi being attacked by tear gas in that area.
In this case, the Tehran Prosecutor General is admitting that the regime, despite massing security forces last Thursday, was unable to prevent the kidnapping of the son of a senior revolutionary .
3. Ali Karroubi was snatched by authorities, tortured, and threatened with rape in a mosque, but they lied to the Tehran Prosecutor, who is so gullible that he publicly repeated that lie without checking out the facts. Where does this leave the credibility of post-election prosecutions and court sentences, including capital punishment?
4. Ali Karroubi was snatched by the authorities, tortured, and threatened with rape in a mosque. The Prosecutor General is aware of this but is lying. If a high-ranking official is attempting such a fabrication, what credibility does Iran's Judiciary have?
Reader Comments (7)
Scott
Of course, there is a fifth possible scenario
The Mossad team that infiltrated Iran and assassinated Professor Ali-Mohammadi , also kidnapped Ali Karroubi and tortured him while forcing his family to claim that Iranian plainclothes were responsible .
It is all so obvious that I can't understand why the regime has not revealed it.
Barry
It is seriously to be doubted,
if in any civilized modern-style (Western/European) country
[with some well-known former exceptions within the (former) Communist-bloc under Stalin - and we now know what came out of it over the long-term]
somebody, anybody, people, senior members of the police or the army, public prosecutors, senior members of any law enforcement forces, ordinary members of any (semi-)armed (security/military) forces, ordinary citizens
might with impunity and scot-free dare and might with impunity and scot-free be allowed
to demand the death(s) of and death sentences for (a considerable number of) formerly high-ranking politicians,
if these high-ranking politicians and their relatives might with impunity, scot-free and openly be assaulted and attacked in public by state security personnel.
In any civilized country worthy of that label these acts would be rightly understood as a complete, utter, and undescribably perilous breakdown of public (state-)order and of public (state-)ethics,
suggesting a (state-initiated) license of and a (state-initiated) request for a general vicious, blood-thirsty, publicly accepted and expected bloodlusty attitude and behaviour towards any imaginable citizen, setting alight a “blast furnace” of publicly sanctioned lethal violence on an unprecedented large and intense scale.
In civilized societies such events would lead to the annihilation of mutual and societal decency, of mutual and societal decorum, of mutual and societal respect,
the annihilation of civilized behaviour, the annihilation of civilization and culture as such
[writing from Germany I know – historically – what I am writing about]
This tweet is from about 14 hours ago: "Oh may be Dowlatabadi should also read Javan site(Sepah) which rpts Ali Karoubi was arrested by security forces"
http://twitter.com/persianbanoo/status/9142154307
Is this still on the Javan site?
Rapists in Iran's regime
Sexual assault against men and women is being systematically used in Iran in an attempt to stifle opposition
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/16/iran-rapist-assault-opposition
with no doubt ali karrubi was beaten and threatened to death.iran has the worst judiciary system in whole world.they act political in this system.they just torture rape and kill,they do not care who the guy is.one day they rape ahmadi nejad too declaring he raped himself.i live in iran,i was caught by basijis too,i was beaten to death too.they torn my t-shirt and beaten my whole body including m,y head with kicks and...they kill and rape to terrify u but they dont know we get so stronger
Sepehr
If he was not Ali Karroubi, he would have been raped or killed but they are afraid to do this with people from the regime; I am so sorry for you and what you have endured in your life, sorry to have this kind of regime in a country where we have had romance and poetry; I am ashamed to have AN as president who has ruined our country and I am so proud to have young people like you who fight for freedom and democracy; don't loose your hopes; if God exists ( it's a test for him ) things will change in our country and all the torturers will pay; we all are your friends on this site and are with you ; good luck and take care .
Sepehr jan,
Your courage to carry on inspires me like Ange and many other expatriates. I am proud of you and all those, who continue though they have been insulted, beaten up or even raped. You are restoring the honour our country has lost, and your determination proves the victory of humanity face to an insane and brutal regime.
If you are religious, I pray for you, otherwise I keep you in my heart.
sabz o sarafraz bashid!
Arshama