TEHRAN: Iran’s new judiciary chief has replaced a hard-line prosecutor who played a key role in the mass trials of leading reformers arrested over unrest that erupted after the disputed presidential election in June.
In another move that may be welcomed by moderates, the IRNA news agency said judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani had ordered a probe into allegations by defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karoubi that some opposition protesters were raped in jail.
IRNA, Iran’s official news agency, said late Saturday that Tehran prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi had been replaced by Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi. The same news agency later said Mortazavi had been appointed deputy prosecutor general.
It was unclear whether it would have any impact on the trials of more than 100 senior pro-reform figures, activists and others charged with inciting protests after the election. Four such mass trials have been held in a Tehran court this month.
IRNA did not give a reason for the decision by Larijani, who was appointed in mid-August. Judiciary sources had told Reuters that Larijani had made Mortazavi’s replacement a condition for accepting the judiciary chief post.
