Iran reformist 'under pressure to confess'

AFP: TEHRAN — A top reformist who has been detained since the June presidential election said he is under pressure from authorities to make confessions against his will, a reformist website reported on Saturday.

Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, former spokesman for the government of reformist ex-president Mohammad Khatami, said he and his teenage son were badly beaten during his arrest and that his head and ribs were "broken."

"During interrogations, I was under pressure to do interviews (confessions) such as those that Abtahi and Atrianfar did," Ramezanzadeh was quoted as saying by parlemennews, a website run by the minority reformist faction in parliament.

He was referring to senior reformists Mohammad Ali Abtahi and Mohammad Atrianfar who are on trial for their alleged role in unleashing unrest after the disputed re-election of Ahmadinejad.

During their hearing on August 1 before a revolutionary court, Abtahi and Atrianfar both said that there was no fraud in the election, backtracking from earlier claims they had made.

"Those in charge insisted that if I do an interview, better conditions will be provided to me. I have so far not accepted that," he said, adding however that he has not been tortured since his arrest "80 days ago."

But Ramezanzadeh said he is being held in solitary confinement since his arrest which took place after the first result of the June 12 election emerged.

"I was detained only to settle political scores," said Ramezanzadeh, who spoke to a parlemennews website reporter during a court visit on Wednesday.

"During my arrest, they beat my teenage son, they broke my head and ribs and I still carry scars. I have not been notified of my charges yet. They want to accuse me of participating in illegal gatherings even when I was arrested only hours after first results were out," Ramezanzadeh added.

In the aftermath of the June election, hundreds of thousands of supporters of Ahmadinejad's defeated rivals took to the streets in Tehran to protest his victory.

About 30 people were killed in ensuing violence, according to official figures while opposition groups say 72 died.

Four thousand people, including top reformists such as Ramezanzadeh, political activists, and journalists were arrested in a crackdown by security forces.

About 140 of them are currently on trial in a Tehran revolutionary court on several charges, including rioting.