TEHRAN, Iran — The new head of Iran’s judiciary, Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, fired the main prosecutor in the trials of dozens of opposition figures accused of plotting to overthrow the country’s leadership, the semiofficial ISNA agency reported Saturday.
Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi had built a case based on confessions and intended to prove that senior aides of the defeated candidates in the June 12 presidential election were involved in a foreign-backed plot to bring down the leaders of the Islamic Republic.
The opposition says that the election was rigged and that the confessions were coerced.
Mortazavi was replaced by Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi, who is known to be less ideological than his predecessor, according to lawyers defending several high-profile defendants.
“I hope the court will now free the accused,” said Saleh Nikbakth, who is defending six prominent politicians, including former Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi. “Mortazavi was the judicial cover for the arrests. He issued the warrants three days before the elections.”
The dismissal was Larijani’s first important move since his appointment by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei two weeks ago, and it appears to signal that he is trying to follow a course independent of the government.
Recent statements by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Khamenei indicate that they disagree on the case, which opposition members say is an attempt to purge the former candidates from Iran’s political system.
