Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris
Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris
Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris
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Revue <strong>de</strong> Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro <strong>de</strong> la Prensa-Basm Öz<strong>et</strong>i<br />
Trial Over Police Raid Opens in Iran<br />
By Geneive Abdo Demonstrations also spilled into the<br />
stre<strong>et</strong>s of Tehran in the wont social<br />
Special to the International Herald Tribune unrest since the l '179 Islamic Revolu-<br />
TEHRAN - Policemen accused of tion.<br />
beaûng pro-<strong>de</strong>mocracy stu<strong>de</strong>nt <strong>de</strong>mon- The formerTehran police chief, Brig-<br />
,stra~ faced their alleged victims in a adier General Farhad Nazari, the commilitarY<br />
court Tuesday in a rare pros- man<strong>de</strong>r of special riot squads, 7 other<br />
ecution of Iran's powerful security officers and 12 conscripts are facing<br />
forces.<br />
charges of illegally entering the Tehran<br />
In the unprece<strong>de</strong>nted open trial, the University dormitories, beating stu<strong>de</strong>nts<br />
stu<strong>de</strong>nts accused police officers of il- . and <strong>de</strong>stroying their property. Lawyers<br />
legally entering Tehran University .dor- say that if the <strong>de</strong>fendants are convicted<br />
mitories on July 8. Stu<strong>de</strong>nts had staged a they could each face up to 10 years in<br />
peaceful <strong>de</strong>monstration earlier that day prison.<br />
over the closure by a conservative-dom- The outcome of the trial will be an<br />
inated court of the pro-reform news- indication of wh<strong>et</strong>her Presi<strong>de</strong>nt Mopaper<br />
Salam, once a leading symbol of hammad Khatami's call for a soci<strong>et</strong>y<br />
free expression in Iran. based on the rule of law prevails in<br />
The police tried to halt the <strong>de</strong>mon- Iran.<br />
stration and then broke into the dor- But stu<strong>de</strong>nts and their supporters in<br />
mitories later that night, allegedly the reform movement, who gained a<br />
smashing windows and furniture and solid victory in parliamentary elections<br />
clubbing stu<strong>de</strong>nts.<br />
Feb. 18, say the prosecutions do not go<br />
In response to the melee, stu<strong>de</strong>nt far enough. They are <strong>de</strong>manding legal<br />
protests weré held for the following six action against hard-line vigilantes acdays<br />
at Tehran University and other uni- cused by the stu<strong>de</strong>nts of leading the<br />
versities across the country.<br />
assault.<br />
Reformers have vowed to make the<br />
judicial system, now un<strong>de</strong>r the control of<br />
the conservative establishment, less<br />
politicized. They have also promised to<br />
pass legislation restric~g the powers of<br />
law enforcement agencies.<br />
Such moves will be m<strong>et</strong> with much<br />
resistance. The conservative clerical establishment'<br />
is reluctant to give citizens<br />
rights similar to those in Western <strong>de</strong>mocracies,<br />
and they believe that violent<br />
repression by the security forces is justified<br />
if the Islamic system is un<strong>de</strong>r<br />
threat.<br />
Standing in a packed courtroom, the<br />
stu<strong>de</strong>nts told of the events the night of<br />
July 8-9, when at least one'person was<br />
killed and at more than 200 injured.<br />
Their lawyer accused the police of conspiring<br />
with gangs of Islamic extremists<br />
in a plot to g<strong>et</strong> revenge on the stu<strong>de</strong>nts<br />
for staging the peaceful protest over the<br />
closure of Salam.<br />
"There were some people coordinating<br />
b<strong>et</strong>ween the police and those in<br />
plainclothes," Mohsen Rohami, a proreform<br />
cleric representing the stu<strong>de</strong>nts,<br />
told the court. "The prosecutor must pay<br />
attention to this fact."<br />
One stu<strong>de</strong>nt testified that he had lost<br />
an eye when a tear-gas canister hit him<br />
ànd police refused to allow an ambulance<br />
to take him to the hospital.<br />
" A tear gas canister hit my eye. Itwas<br />
like a bull<strong>et</strong>," said Mohsen Jamali, who<br />
stood before the judge with a white<br />
bandage over his missing right eye.<br />
The family of Ezzat Ebrahim-Nejad,<br />
killed while staying with friends, sat in<br />
the front rows of the court, holding a<br />
photograph of their son. They asked to<br />
speak, but the judge refused.<br />
Iran's Supreme Court last week reiterated<br />
that it was upholding a lower<br />
court's <strong>de</strong>ath sentence against Akbar<br />
Mohammadi, a stu<strong>de</strong>nt <strong>de</strong>monstrator.<br />
His brother, Manucher, is charged with<br />
treason for his political activity while a<br />
stu<strong>de</strong>nt.<br />
One night this week, the father of the<br />
two boys visited a lawyer to seek help.<br />
Weary and shaken over the family's<br />
or<strong>de</strong>al, Mohammad Mohammadi said he<br />
was doing everytbing he could to save<br />
Akbar Mohammadi's life.<br />
"I have asked the lea<strong>de</strong>r and other<br />
officials to pardon my son," he said,<br />
referring to Iran's religious lea<strong>de</strong>r,<br />
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "God willing,<br />
they will."<br />
KIIllfII1Jebroili/llle Aaoci_ .......<br />
Brigadier General Farhad Nazari, former Tehran police chief, left, listening<br />
to a stu<strong>de</strong>nt's testimony at his trial Tuesday ln the Iranian capital.<br />
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2000