Saturday, March 28, 2009

Why insulting the Iranian Spiritual Guide is bad for one's health (but necessary)

"Reporters Without Borders calls for an independent enquiry into the death of the young blogger Omidreza Mirsayafi (http://rooznegaar.blogfa.com) in detention on 18 March. Mirsayafi was hastily buried in Tehran’s Behesht Zahar cemetery on 19 March without an autopsy being carried out. In a bid to find out how he died, his family has brought a complaint against the officials in charge of Evin prison, where he was held. “The authorities took advantage of the family’s grief and distress to bury Mirsayafi without an autopsy,” Reporters Without Borders said. “We insist on a full explanation of the circumstances of this young blogger’s death in detention. We have been told that this is a case of homicide, in which case those responsible must be brought to trial and punished. We demand the creation of an independent commission of enquiry.” Reporters Without Borders has learned that, according to the forensic doctor, the Evin prison documents detailing the time of Mirsayafi’s transfer to Loghman Hakim hospital and the time of his death contain irregularities."