The Latest from Iran (28 September): Rumbling On

2010 GMT: Rumour of Day. We have listened for days as chatter spread about the killings last week of two Tehran doctors,  Abdolreza Sudbakhsh and Gholamreza Sarabi, by gunmen on motorcycles. 

Iran officials said Dr. Sarabi was killed in revenge over a botched medical case while there were no comments about the case of Dr. Sudbakhsh.

Now Rah-e-Sabz has offered a political link in the case of Dr. Sudbakhsh, who was one of the physicians responsible for inmate health at the Kahrizak detention center, where post-election protesters were abused and killed.

The website claimed that Dr. Sudbakhsh had been ordered by Iranian security officials to give false diagnoses regarding Kahrizak detainees. For example, Mohsen Ruholamini, the son of the campaign manager of conservative presidential candidate Mohsen Rezaei, was initially said to have died from meningitis. Later it was established --- and confirmed in a parliamentary report --- that he died from beatings at Kahrizak.

We're still cautious but the story has now spread to the pages of The New York Times.

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Iran Feature: Naming the Officials in the Attacks on Karroubi's House and Qoba Mosque

In the five nights before Qods (Palestine) Day on 3 September, the residential complex of opposition cleric Mehdi Karroubi was surrounded by a pro-regime crowd. Violence escalated until, on the fifth night, a group tried to storm Karroubi's apartment. Several people were injured; Karroubi's bodyguard was reported to have been seriously wounded.

On Qods Day, a pro-regime crowd launched an assault on Qoba Mosque in Shiraz, the base of opposition cleric Ayatollah Dastgheib. They entered the mosque, injuring worshippers and forcing the abandonment of services.

Now Tagheer website, linked to Karroubi, claims that Mohammad Larijani, Governor of Shemiranat country in Tehran Province, was involved in the assault on the Karroubi home. It adds that Mohammad Larijani was in regularly telephone contact with Morteza Tamaddon, Governor of Tehran, reporting on the attacks from the scene.

On the Qoba Mosque front, Arshama3's Blog posts the list from opposition websites of 41 alleged attackers. Of the 41, only Hojatoleslam Voldan has been arrested; he was released on 25 September on bail.

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