Thursday , 25 April 2024

Ex-Vice President Criticizes Iran’s Judiciary, Treatment Of Inmates

RFL/RE – Former Vice President Hamid Baghaei has criticized Iran’s judiciary and the treatment of prisoners following his release on bail.


http://www.rferl.org/a/28643345.html

“Go and see what’s happening in our prisons,” Baghaei, who is accused of corruption, said after his release late on July 26.

“There was one person in my cell. He was in there for 13 months without even being questioned,” he said. “They didn’t even call his family. He has one child and was an airline employee.”

Baghaei was detained by police on July 9. He was put behind bars after failing to raise the $13 million bail requested for his release.

Baghaei, who held office under former President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, had earlier gone on hunger strike to protest his detention.

Ahmadinejad has described his close ally’s detention as “illegal” and a “great cruelty” and had called for his immediate release.

Baghaei also called judiciary spokesman Gholam Hossein Ejei a “liar.”

Ejei had compared Baghaei’s cell conditions to a luxury hotel, claiming he was in a suite where he had “a refrigerator, a television, and enough sunlight.”

Baghaei had registered to run in the May presidential election, but he was disqualified by the hard-line Guardians Council that is tasked with vetting election candidates.

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