TEHRAN - An Iranian human rights activist with tiesto the government sharply criticized on Monday temporary detention centers run by various institutions in the Islamic republic, accusing them of practicing torture to extract confessions.

Mohammad-Hassan Ziai-Far, secretary of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said the police, the intelligence ministry, the judiciary and the military all had "illegal detention centers."

Ziai-Far said his offices had received "numerous complaints from people who have no knowledge about the whereabouts of their family members ... or that they don't know where their relative is being held."

"Violent behavior, torture, insult and forced confession are other types of violations reported on this kind of centers," he said, adding that interrogators "are lacking in proper training and Islamic and human education."

Ziai-Far often speaks out against excesses by the regime, but also criticizes Western human rights organizations for their "biased and politically-motivated" approach to the question of human rights in Iran.

[The National Council of Resistance of Iran, in a statement today, confirming the above report, said: "These admissions by Ziaifar, a Judiciary official and responsible for execution, torture and suppression in Iran, reflect the abysmal state of human rights in Iran and render hollow all the propaganda about improvement in the human rights situation, 'civil society' and the 'rule of law.'"

In a letter to Ms. Mary Robinson, the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights and to other international human rights organs, NCR's Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mohammad Mohaddessin wrote: "Ziaifar's acknowledgments bespeak of only a glimpse of the crimes committed in the mullahs' medieval prisons. They only add to the need to condemn the flagrant and systematic human rights abuses in Iran. He urged them not to allow human rights to fall victim to economic dealings between Western countries and the ruling theocracy."]

Khatami Faces Two Crucial Tests This Week, Agence France Presse, July 21

TEHRAN - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami faces two crucial tests this week with his interior minister nominee facing a confirmation vote in parliament and an expected verdict in the corruption trial of Tehran mayor Gholam-Hossein Karbaschi.

Mussavi-Lari's nomination last week will be put to a vote of confidence on Wednesday following the impeachment last month his predecessor Abdollah Nuri.

His approval is still in the balance as several conservatives in parliament have already voiced opposition to his candidacy, saying he lacked the proper administrative credentials and was too much of a reformer.

"I am surprised that the nomination was made without consulting parliament," said MP Mohammad-Reza Bahonar.

Mussavi-Lari's possible rejection will heighten factional tension.

The president's agenda faces another test on Thursday, when a verdict is due to be announced on Karbaschi, on trial for corruption in his city government.

One of Karbaschi's lawyers, Bahman Keshavarz, said Monday that he had been informed by the presiding judge that a verdict had been reached, but that it would be announced at a press conference on Thursday.

Troika Unsuccessful to Assure Rushdie's Safety, Reuter, July 21

LONDON - Britain has told Iran there can be no immediate prospect of ministerial visits while the death order against author Salman Rushdie remains in place, the Foreign Office said on Tuesday.

A senior British official told Iranian officials in Tehran last weekend that London wanted a written assurance of the author's safety as a precondition for improving ties, a spokesman said.

The official, deputy under-secretary John Shepherd, visited Tehran as part of a European Union delegation from Britain, Germany and Austria, but also held bilateral talks.

Morteza Sarmadi, Iran's deputy foreign minister, was quoted by Iranian television as describing the Rushdie affair as a result of a clash of civilizations.

The EU has backed Britain's demand for written assurances of Rushdie's safety, but some countries have exchanged top-level visits with Iran already after a thaw in relations

British exports to Iran have lagged behind those of other EU states at 395 million pounds (648 million dollars) last year, compared to Germany's 1,722 million.
 

 
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