CAIRO — Iran’s leadership faced sharp criticism Wednesday from top clerics and even conservative supporters over prison abuses, including detainee deaths and the brutal beatings of protesters arrested in the post-election crackdown.
In a move likely to anger the opposition, officials announced the first trials will begin Saturday, with the prosecution of around 20 protesters. They include some accused of sending images of the unrest to the media.
Top pro-reform politicians will be tried later for allegedly ordering riots, officials said. The opposition has said detainees were tortured to extract false confessions for the courts.
The bodies of several young protesters have been turned over to their families in recent weeks, all showing signs of beatings or other abuse while in custody, according to pro-opposition websites, citing accounts from relatives. Among them was the son of a prominent conservative, which has brought a wave of criticism from the camp that generally backs the government.
Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi and his allies were planning a ceremony today in the sprawling Behesht-e Zahra cemetery outside Tehran to honor those who died in the fierce suppression of the protests. Supporters also plan rallies in various parts of the capital — raising the likelihood of new clashes with security forces.
Putting further pressure on Iran’s leadership, several top theologians harshly condemned the crackdown — a significant show of anger from the Islamic republic’s spiritual patrons.
One of them, outspoken dissident Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, derided an order by the supreme leader this week to close Kahrizak prison, where at least one detainee was killed.
“Can the government deceive people by closing a detention center and blaming all the faults on a building?” he said in a statement Wednesday. “What benefit does the government gain from the crisis, except angering the majority of the people and weakening the Islamic republic?”
