Trial of Iran detainees illicits confessions | World News |Axisoflogic.com

TEHRAN -- The first court trial of the detainees arrested during the post-election unrest was held on Saturday.

According to the indictment, a number of the accused confessed that the post-election unrest was preplanned and the plan was following the timetable of the velvet revolution to the extent that over 100 stages of the 198 steps of Gene Sharp were implemented in the foiled velvet revolution.

The indictment said that despite warnings by the Supreme Leader, certain groups propagated the idea of the possibility of fraud in the election without presenting any documentation, a claim which was widely disseminated by the enemies of the Islamic Revolution.

It said one of the political groups guilty of this offense is the Islamic Revolution Mojahedin Organization, which began making claims about the strong possibility of vote-rigging months before the presidential election.

The indictment said that forged documents were found at the house of former industries minister Behzad Nabavi, who is a leading member of IRMO, that were intended to raise concerns among the people.

It added, in coordination with enemy groups and hostile media outlets, the Islamic Iran Participation Party (IIPP) and certain members of the Association of Combatant Clerics tried to put into question the validity of the poll before and after the election.

The detainees admitted that they were absolutely certain that there was no election fraud but insisted that there had been vote-rigging in order to create doubts about the validity of the election.

The indictment quoted Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari as saying that Western media outlets intentionally promoted the idea of the possibility of vote fraud before the election.

Bahari said illegal rallies were held that were similar to velvet revolutions in other countries with the goal of seizing control of important government institutions. The Newsweek journalist added that rallies in front of the Interior Ministry, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) headquarters, and the parliament were all planned with this purpose.

Mostafar Tajzadeh, a former deputy interior minister during the Khatami administration, said he was totally convinced that Mir-Hossein Mousavi had lost the election in the provinces.

“After the results were announced, nobody heard me saying that there was (election) fraud,” Tajzadeh said.

Behzad Nabavi also confessed that there is no documentation proving that the election was rigged. “We had no document proving fraud and we should accept to the ruling of the Guardian Council,” he added.

Abdollah Ramazanzadeh, the government spokesman during the Khatami administration, also said that vote- rigging is “impossible” in Iran.

“I have always said… (vote) fraud is impossible in Iran,” Ramazanzadeh, the deputy secretary general of the IIPP, stated. He also said other members of the IIPP are of the opinion that there is no possibility of election fraud in the Iranian system.

Former lawmaker Mohsen Farahani, a leading member of the IIPP, said, “It cannot be accepted under any circumstances that there was vote-rigging in the election.”

Even if it is assumed that there had been vote-rigging, it could be “one million or two million” and not 11 million, he added.

According to the indictment, Farahani said he was surprised that people like Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who is a member of the Expediency Council and whose record is clear to everyone, and Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour and Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari, who had served as interior ministers, could make claims of election fraud.

At a joint press conference, former vice president Mohammad-Ali Abtahi and Mohammad Atrianfar, a senior member of the Servants of Construction Party, answered reporters’ questions.

Abtahi said Mousavi did not recognize the reformist movement and thought that since he was a follower of Imam Khomeini, he would win the election.

He also said the IIPP and some other parties invited U.S. doves to hold dialogue with Iranian doves.

He said the 40 million votes cast in the June 12 election could have turned Iran into one of the most influential and powerful countries in the region and the world.

He added, “I am happy that I am expressing my views bravely.”

“Mousavi’s worst act was his insistence on fraud in the election despite an 11 million vote difference.”

He also said Khatami had no right to “sacrifice the great and historic reform movement.”

If the Supreme Leader did not announce that he would not back down one step from the election results, a triangle of insecurity in Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan would have arisen in the region, he added.

He went on to say that if he were Mousavi, he would have used his 13 million votes to strengthen democracy and promote hope in society and would have congratulated Ahmadinejad on his election victory.

For his part, Mohammad Atrianfar said certain persons acted in a way that put the country’s independence to question.

He described solitary confinement as very hard but said it is a necessity and it is the Judicial system’s right to interrogate prisoners and put them under pressure.

However, Atrianfar said prison officials were compassionate toward him and other inmates.

Tehran Times Political Desk