Mehdi Karroubi stood against President Ahmadinejad in the disputed election on June 12
Iran's parliament has been forced to launch an investigation after claims that protesters arrested during a government crackdown on demonstrations have been raped in prison.
Mahdi Karroubi, one of two rivals defeated by President Ahmadinejad in the discredited June election, said he has received reports that some male and female prisoners were raped in custody.
The opposition leader laid out the allegations in a letter to the ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in his capacity as head of the Assembly of Experts. Mr Karroubi said he was given the information by former military commanders and other senior officials.
The crackdown has already fuelled public anger because of allegations that detainees have been tortured and abused in custody, including several who died.
“A number of detainees have stated that some female detainees were so brutally raped that their genitals were damaged. Others savagely raped young boys so that they suffer from depression and serious physical and mental damage,” Mr Karroubi said in the letter, which he posted on his website.
He said such crimes, if proven true, would “disgrace” Iran’s Islamic ruling system.
Senior police and judiciary officials acknowledged over the weekend that detainees have been abused in prison and called for those responsible to be punished, apparently in an effort to calm public outrage.
Ali Larijani, the parliamentary speaker and a powerful conservative, said today that a committee would now investigate these reports as well as the rape claims.
Dissent against the crackdown on demonstrators from Iran’s ruling elite appears to have prompted a purge of those questioning Mr Ahmadinejad’s heavy-handed approach to the crisis.
He is believed to have fired at least four senior Intelligence Ministry figures in a move that deepens a rift between Mr Ahmadinejad and critics within his own conservative camp. It also reveals splits within the security establishment itself over the suppression of the pro-reform opposition since the June 12 election.
The Intelligence Ministry purge was reportedly sparked by the refusal of some top officials to back the government’s claims that the wave of post-election protests were part of an opposition “velvet revolution” aimed at overthrowing the clerical leadership. Some in the ministry had reportedly opposed broadcasting confessions by detainees that the opposition says were obtained by abuse.
Pro-reform websites reported that more than a dozen senior ministry officials were fired or forced to resign in the past few weeks, but the total number remained unclear.
Conservative and pro-reform media identified four deputy ministers who were removed, including the head of counter-espionage and a 25-year veteran, both of whom were “trusted” by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to one conservative website Khabaronline.
The purge appeared to reflect tensions between the ministry and the elite Revolutionary Guard, which has been the main force behind the wave of arrests. The dismissals were ordered by Mr Ahmadinejad, according to Hasan Younesi, son of a former intelligence minister.
“Ahmadinejad has effectively taken command of the country’s most important security body and is settling scores,” said Mr Younesi, whose father served as minister during the 1997-2005 pro-reform administration.
Both father and son maintain close links with the intelligence community. Mr Younesi said the dismissals targeted officials who did not support the government’s claims of a “velvet revolution” plot.
Ahmad Avai, a conservative politician, said parliament was also considering a probe into the dismissals. “There is justified concern ... if this trend continues, irreparable damage will be inflicted on the Intelligence Ministry,” Mr Avai said, according to the hard-line daily Jomhuri-e-Eslami.
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