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Iran Deputy Interior Minister To Organize Presidential Polls Despite Ban
TEHRAN, March 5 (News Agencies) - Iran's Deputy Interior Minister Mostafa Tajzadeh, sentenced to jail Sunday for fraud in last year's parliamentary polls, is still in charge of organizing the June presidential elections despite a court ban.
Tajzadeh will "remain in place, there is no question of replacing him because no replacement is possible," the official IRNA news agency quoted Interior Minister Abdolvahed Mussavi-Lari as saying Monday.
Mussavi-Lari, who was confirmed Monday to also be facing a court case for fraud during last year's elections, said: "We do not consider Tajzadeh guilty, and we presume that he will be acquitted if [real] justice is done."
"Such attitudes against reformers such as Tajzadeh have no result but an even greater participation of the people in the polls," Mussavi-Lari, who like Tajzadeh is a close ally of moderate President Mohammad Khatami, said.
Tajzadeh, 44, who was designated organizer of the June 8th presidential poll in the face of fierce opposition from conservatives, was ordered jailed for a year Sunday and slapped with a lengthy ban on political activities.
He had been found guilty of complicity in fraud in last year's elections which gave reformists control of the legislature and which he also organized.
Tajzadeh, who strongly denied the charges, told journalists he would make unspecified revelations about the case in the coming days.
Tajzadeh is free pending an appeal that must be lodged within three weeks.
Meanwhile, Tehran's judiciary confirmed that Mussavi-Lari, a medium-ranking cleric, would be investigated by the conservative-led Special Court for Clergy (SCC).
"The case of the interior minister has been sent to the SCC," Tehran's judiciary announced in a statement cited by state radio.
IRNA said Sunday Mussavi-Lari is accused of "preventing a mission" by the conservative-run inspectorate general charged with investigating alleged cases of fraud during the February 2000 elections.
The minister had opposed a recount of votes in March after the elections, which saw conflict over the results, notably in Tehran, between the interior ministry and the Guardians Council, a conservative supervisory body.
Since reformists swept last year's elections, the conservative-dominated courts have jailed journalists and other Khatami supporters, shut down newspapers and summoned reformist members of parliament on various pretexts.
The head of Iran's chief pro-reform party, the Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF), Mohammad-Reza Khatami, brother of the president, said Monday the verdict handed down to Tajzadeh had been predetermined, IRNA reported.
"The result of the trial was not surprising," Mohammad-Reza said, adding that Tajzadeh had been told in advance to "either step down, or we will make you step down."
The president's brother also told more than 2,000 students at Tehran University that the conservatives would ultimately give way to the reform movement.
"They put pressure on journalists and the young to make us renounce reform, but we have no choice but to continue and they will be forced to abdicate," he said.
The Tehran judiciary warned Monday that no one should "deplore" Tajzadeh's verdict.
The administrative tribunal also sentenced Tehran governor Ayatollahi Azarmi to 18 months in prison on similar charges to Tajzadeh and a 45-month ban on holding public office and civil rights deprivation.
Azarmi's lawyer announced that his client would appeal the verdict, IRNA reported.
A pro-reform Iranian parliament member, Abolfazl Shakuri, meanwhile cautioned the rival conservative and reformist factions to stop their fighting or risk jeopardizing the future of the Islamic revolution.
"Put an end to your war of the courts and the press and calm the situation, because if you don't, the boat of the revolution will sink with all of us on board," the deputy warned parliament.
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