Forced Confessions From a War Veteran

Mohammad Davari, the imprisoned editor of Saham News website, said during his trial on Sunday, “They want to sacrifice someone over the issue of raping detainees, and didn’t find anyone better than me.” Meanwhile, his lawyer called on Mehdi Karoubi to interfere on Mohammad Davari’s behalf.

Mohammad Davari was the editor in chief of Saham News website, the official newspaper of Etemad Melli (National Trust) Party, and also a member of the Iranian Teachers Association. He was arrested on September 26 of last year after security agents raided the National Trust Party’s headquarters and has spent the past eight months behind bars.

Official charges against Davari include “disseminating propaganda against the regime and conspiracy to disrupt national security and public order.” According to Saham News, however, “The Saham News editor in chief has been arrested for collecting documents related to rape.”

On April 5 Saham News reported that Davari’s physical and psychological health is deteriorating, adding, “By exerting this pressure, the ruling faction seeks to force him to take part in a controversial interview dismissing Mehdi Karoubi’s rape claims.”

Mohammad Davari has since confirmed the report. His lawyer, Mina Jafari, told Rooz that he is under pressure to confess against Mehdi Karoubi; something the teacher has not yet agreed to.

Following the June 12 electoral coup last year, Mehdi Karoubi revealed, in a letter that he sent to Hashemi Rafsanjani, that many political detainees, particularly at the Kahrizak detention facility, had been subjected to torture and rape. The ruling faction unveiled a massive media campaign to discredit the Etemad Melli Party’s chairman, accusing him of disseminating lies, before it raided the party’s headquarters, shut down its newspaper and arrested many of Karoubi’s close advisors. Security agents simultaneously raided the committee to investigate claims of political prisoners and confiscated the committee’s documents.

According to Davari’s lawyer, the Sahamnews editor in chief said at his trial on Sunday, “In the past 8 months in prison, I judged my own actions more than you judged them, and I concluded that I didn’t do anything to discredit the regime. In fact, all of my actions added to the regime’s credibility.”

Davari’s lawyer added, “I feel that Mr. Davari is correct in saying that an innocent person is being sacrificed. That’s why we expect Mr. Karoubi to interfere. As Mr. Davari’s lawyers, we want Mr. Karoubi to voice his support for him. In essence we expect Mr. Karoubi’s help in the case and believe that Mr. Davari is unjustly held behind bars.”