Iran launches case against Karoubi over rape claims

Iran's judiciary has launched a legal case against pro-reform cleric Mehdi Karoubi over his allegations that some opposition supporters were raped in jail, the official IRNA news agency reported on Tuesday. A special investigative committee had prepared a file into the claims made by Karoubi, who finished fourth in Iran's disputed election in June, and sent it to the prosecutor's office, IRNA said.
Iran detained several leading moderates and put them on trial after the presidential poll, which sparked huge opposition protests, but the legal action against Karoubi was the first time a candidate was targeted. Any move to prosecute Karoubi may lead to fresh protests because the mid-ranking cleric enjoys widespread support.
Hard-liners have also called for opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi, who came second in the vote, and reformist former President Mohammad Khatami to be tried for fomenting unrest. Karoubi angered hard-liners in August by saying some people held in the street protests that followed the election had been raped and abused in detention.
"Karoubi is a cleric and his remarks should be studied at the special court for the clergy," said Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi. "Some people have also been summoned in connection with the case." IRNA said: "A legal case prepared by the judicial investigative committee has been sent to the Tehran prosecutor over Karoubi's claims."
Last month, the same judicial committee rejected Karoubi's allegation and called for libel charges to be considered against anyone making such claims. Iran's police chief has also dismissed Karoubi's allegation as baseless. Karoubi and Mousavi say the poll was rigged to secure President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election. Officials reject the charge.
The election and its turbulent aftermath plunged Iran into its deepest internal crisis in the past three decades. Rights groups say thousands of people, including senior reformers, were arrested after the poll, though most have been freed. Karoubi said in September he would not give up fighting for rights of dozens of people complaining of mistreatment after being jailed. Hard-liners have called for Karoubi to be arrested or charged if he fails to back up his accusations.