Tehran prosecutor confirms 7 deaths in Ashura unrest
Tehran Times Political Desk

TEHRAN - The Tehran prosecutor general confirmed on Tuesday that seven people were killed in the Ashura riots in Tehran on Sunday.

“Seven people were killed in Tehran,” Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi told reporters.

He said one of the seven people was killed by a gunshot, and since the police have announced that they did not fire a single bullet on Sunday, the issue is under investigation.

The six others were killed by blunt objects, he added.

He went on to say that no one in any position who has committed any crime or offence has impunity from prosecution.

The Judiciary will certainly deal with the culprits, but the time when firm action will be taken depends on the country’s overall situation, he stated.

On the number of detainees arrested during the Ashura unrest, he said, “Don’t ask me about the number of detainees, but the people who were arrested are now held in custody.”

If it is proven that a detainee is innocent, he or she will be released, otherwise he or she will be prosecuted, he added.

He stated that the Judiciary is carefully examining the Ashura incidents, saying, “We will not differentiate between those affiliated with political groups and others. Differentiating between those who attended gatherings and chanted slogans and who were arrested by the police is unacceptable.”

He called the assault by security forces on the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) headquarters in Tehran an unplanned spontaneous incident.

In the incident, which also occurred on Sunday, one of the ISNA correspondents was beaten up.

On the detention of some reformist political figures in the wake of the Ashura unrest, he said if they have been arrested, legal charges have been filed against them, and the arrest warrants have been issued on the orders of judicial bodies.

“Don’t ask me about the names,” he told reporters.

Commenting on the rumor that the body of Mir-Hossein Mousavi’s nephew, who was shot to death during the Ashura incidents, has been stolen, he said, “The body of Mousavi’s nephew is now in the (morgue of the) forensic medicine organization.”

He didn’t say when the body would be delivered to the family.

“We cannot discriminate between those who have been killed. All cases of murder are under investigation at the criminal court. The case of Mousavi’s nephew is also among those files,” he noted.

Asked about the clashes that occurred on the eve of Ashura (Saturday night) at the Hosseinieh Jamaran in northern Tehran, where former president Mohammad Khatami was scheduled to give a speech, he said, “I’m not informed about the incident in detail, and I learned about this in the press. The Tehran prosecutor’s office is currently engaged in more important issues.

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