Iran arrests former Tehran prosecutor

Saeed Mortazavi's arrest "possibly" in connection with allegations of torture, semi-official Fars agency reports.

A former Iranian prosecutor at the centre of a growing confrontation between two of Iran's most powerful figures has been arrested, according to the Tehran prosecutor's website.

Saeed Mortazavi, considered a close aide of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was taken to Tehran's Evin prison, the semi-official Fars agency reported on Tuesday.

Iran's Fars news agency reported Mortazavi was arrested on Monday.

No reason was given for the arrest in the statement released on Tuesday, but the timing suggested it might be linked to Mortazavi's role as a former judicial official, in a dispute between Ahmadinejad and Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani.

Mortazavi was dismissed from his judicial post over the torture deaths of three protesters in custody after the controversial 2009 presidential elections, which the opposition claimed was rigged in Ahmadinejad's favour.

Fars reported that Mortazavi's arrest was "possibly" in connection with allegations of torture and the deaths of the prisoners.

The spokesperson for Iran's judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, said in January that Iran's court would address the cases in March.

'Butcher of the press'

In a speech meant to defend one of his ministers against impeachment, Ahmadinejad played a tape he said showed a meeting between Ali Larijani's brother Fazel and Mortazavi in which Fazel Larijani attempted to use his family's prominent political status for financial gain.

Both Fazel and Ali Larijani denied the accusation of corruption, and Fazel Larijani said he would file a legal complaint against Ahmadinejad and Mortazavi.

The head of Iran's judiciary is Sadeq Larijani, Fazel and Ali's brother.

Labour Minister Abdolreza Sheikholeslami, who was dismissed by parliament on Sunday, appointed Mortazavi last year to head the social security office, against politicians' wishes.

Dubbed by some as "the butcher of the press," Mortazavi had a central role in shutting down reformist newspapers and arresting dozens of journalists.

Human Rights Watch has previously described Mortazavi as a "serial human rights abuser" whose "unsavoury history goes back many years".

"Over the last decade, his [Mortazavi's] name has been closely linked to most, if not all, of Iran's human rights related imbroglios," said Yasm in Alem, a US-based expert on Iran's electoral system.

"Now, he is at the crux of a political fiasco that has brought all the regime's dark secrets to the surface."

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