Saeed Mortazavi

Saeed Mortazavi is a prominent Iranian jurist, prosecutor of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, and current Prosecutor General of Tehran, a position he has held since 2003.

Mortazevi, a former judge, was promoted to the position of Prosecutor General on May 18, 2003. The position had sat unfilled for the previous eight years, since Iran abolished prosecutors in 1995. In the intervening years judges performed the prosecutor's role.cite news
last =
first =
coauthors =
title = World Briefing: Iran: Top Prosecutor
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = New York Times
date = 2003-05-01
url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D00E4D71F3DF932A35756C0A9659C8B63&scp=3&sq=Saeed+Mortazavi&st=nyt
accessdate = 2008-05-01]

Mortazavi is also notable for his involvement in the case of Zahra Kazemi, an Iranian-Canadian photographer who died in the custody of Iranian officials in 2003. As a judge, Mortazevi was involved in some unknown capacity in Kazemi's interrogation. He was later assigned to investigate the disputed circumstances of her death, [cite news
last = Nazila
first = Fathi
coauthors =
title = World Briefing: Iran: Report on Journalist
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = New York Times
date = 2003-07-23
url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E00E0DA143FF930A15754C0A9659C8B63&scp=2&sq=Saeed+Mortazavi&st=nyt
accessdate = 2008-05-01] although it was later reported that Mortazevi had decided to let a military court perform the investigation. [cite news
last = Nazila
first = Fatih
coauthors =
title = Canada Recalls Envoy From Iran After Burial of Detained Reporter
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = New York Times
date = 2003-07-24
url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B01EFDD143EF932A05754C0A9659C8B63&scp=15&sq=Saeed+Mortazavi&st=nyt
accessdate = 2008-05-01] In late 2003, the Iranian Parliament issued a report accusing Mortazavi of trying to cover up Kazemi's death and forcing witnesses to the event to change their stories. Mortazevi strongly denied the accusations, [cite news
last = Nazile
first = Fathi
coauthors =
title = Arrests of Dissident Iranians Seen as Hard-Line Retaliation
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = New York Times
date = 2008-11-04
url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980CE2DC1E30F937A35752C1A9659C8B63&scp=7&sq=Saeed+Mortazavi&st=nyt
accessdate = 2008-05-01] although the government of Canada continues to claim that not only did Mortazavi order Kazemi's arrest, but supervised her torture and was present when she was killed. [cite news
last = Reynolds
first = Richard
coauthors =
title = Canada Calls for Arrest of Iranian Official
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = National Public Radio
date = 2006-06-27
url = http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5514415
accessdate = 2008-05-01]

Mortazavi is often portrayed in the western media as a supposed symbol of problems within the judicial system of Iran. It has been reported that Iranians call him the "butcher of the press". As a judge he shut down 60 pro-reform newspapers. In 2005, journalists reported receiving death threats after testifying about their alleged torture at the command of Mortazevi. In a press conference, Mortazevi denied the journalists had been mistreated while in state custody. [cite press release
title = Journalists Receive Death Threats After Testifying
publisher = Human Rights Watch
date = 2005-01-06
url = http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/01/06/iran9948.htm
accessdate = 2008-05-01] [cite press release
title = Like the Dead in their Coffins: Torture, Detention, and the Crushing of Dissent in Iran
publisher = Human Rights Watch
date =
url = http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/torture/iran/
accessdate = 2008-05-01] Also in 2005, Mortazevi ordered Iran's major ISPs to block access to Orkut and other blogging and social networking websites. [cite news
last =
first =
coauthors =
title = Mortazavi ordered recent filtering
work =
pages =
language = Persian
publisher = BBC Persian
date = 2005-01-09
url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2005/01/050109_a_iran_weblog.shtml
accessdate = 2008-05-01]

In 2006, Mortazavi was sent to Geneva as part of the Iranian delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council, a decision that was met with some criticism at home and abroad, due to Mortazavi's controversial human rights record. Human Rights Watch urged Iran to remove him from the delegation, and other countries to decline to meet with the Iranian delegation until his removal.cite news
last = Ghaemi
first = Hadi
coauthors =
title = For Iran, the Man Is the Message
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = New York Times
date = 2006-06-29
url = http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/29/opinion/29ghaemi.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Saeed+Mortazavi&st=nyt&oref=slogin
accessdate = 2008-05-01] [cite web
last = Jardin
first = Xeni
authorlink = Xeni Jardin
coauthors =
title = Iran's UN Human Rights appointees: no friends of net, press
work =
publisher = Boing Boing
date = 2006-06-27
url = http://www.boingboing.net/2006/06/27/irans-un-human-right.html
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-05-01] Mortazevi's first official meeting was with the also-controversial Zimbabwean minister of justice Patrick Chinamasa. [cite web
last = Alavi
first = Nasrin
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Tehran's red card to human rights
work =
publisher = openDemocracy.net
date = 2006-06-23
url = http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-irandemocracy/human_rights_3676.jsp
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-05-01] Mortazavi took advantage of his position on the delegation to advocate the right of access to high technology, including nuclear power, for all nations. He also warned the council that it should avoid being manipulated into doing the bidding of powerful states, and that it should investigate human rights abuses perpetrated by western powers, notably human rights abuses in the War on Terror, extraordinary rendition, Islamophobia, criticism of the Islamic dress code and veil, and the suppression of the freedom of speech of Holocaust deniers. [cite news
last =
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coauthors =
title = Mortazavi: Iran intends to closely cooperate with UN Human Rights Council
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = Islamic Republic News Agency
date = 2006-06-20
url = http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-22/0606209078162916.htm
accessdate = 2008-05-01]

On February 15, 2008, it was announced that Mortazavi had banned five Iranian websites that comment on politics and current events. Mortazevi was quoted as saying they were "poisoning the electoral sphere" in advance of Iran's mid-March parliamentary elections. [cite news
last = Karimi
first = Nasser
coauthors =
title = Iran shuts 5 websites
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = USA Today
date = 2008-02-15
url = http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-02-14-2988420128_x.htm
accessdate = 2008-05-01] cite web | url = http://www.roozonline.com/2007/07/post_3275.php | title = دادستان تهران: علت پیشرفت من "تقواح" است | date = 2007-07-26 | accessdate = 2008-05-30 | publisher =Roozonline | first =Mazyar | last =Radmanesh ]

In 2008, it was reported that Mortazavi had detained students due to protest against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government; the students alleged abuse while in jail.cite web | url = http://www.roozonline.com/english/archives/2007/08/judiciary_orders_students_to_s.html | title = Judiciary Orders Students to Solitary Confinement | date = 2007-08-23 | accessdate = 2008-05-30 | publisher =Roozonline | first = | last = ] cite web | url = http://www.roozonline.com/english/archives/2007/09/post_3.html | title = A Week of Power Maneuvers | date = 2007-09-01 | accessdate = 2008-05-30 | publisher =Roozonline | first =Hossein | last =Bastani ] cite web | url = http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/07/A660AAF8-5B7B-49C9-85FB-47BA92942B83.html | title = Iran: Families Of Detained Students Describe Abuse In Prison | date = 2007-07-25 | accessdate = 2008-05-30 | publisher =RadiofreeEurope | first =Golnaz | last =Esfandiarii ] cite web | url = http://www.iranfocus.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11388 | title = Iran university students demand release of jailed activists | date = 2007-05-27 | accessdate = 2008-05-30 | publisher =Iranfocus | first = | last = ]

References