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