Iran plans to put on trial about 20 people accused of rioting in the aftermath of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election as the embattled president came under fire again yesterday from hardliners over a series of controversial political decisions.
The official IRNA news agency reported that the 20 “rioters” would go on trial from Saturday on charges including bombings, carrying firearms and grenades, attacking Basij militiamen and security forces and maintaining contacts with the exiled opposition group the People's Mujahedeen.
“They are also charged with attacking military units and universities, sending pictures to enemy media, organizing thugs and rioters, vandalizing public and state property including destroying banks and houses,” it said.
However, Iranian prosecutor Ghorban Ali Dorri Najafabadi also announced that a “considerable” number of protesters would be freed by the end of the Iranian week on Friday.
The news comes a day after authorities freed 140 protesters, while about 200 remain behind bars, including 50 suspected of masterminding riots, said a lawmaker who visited detainees on Tuesday.
The moves are being seen as gestures to the opposition movement which has branded Ahmadinejad's re-election a fraud and protested over the subsequent crackdown on demonstrators and political activists.
However, the authorities continue to ban opposition gatherings and have refused to issue a permit for a planned mourning ceremony in Tehran today.
Amid the mounting political tensions, Ahmadinejad came under fire from his own hardline supporters, who warned him to obey Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's order this week to close a jail holding detainees as it was “not up to required standards.”
The president's standing has been weakened even within his own camp, forcing him into a humiliating climbdown over a political appointment that was blocked by Khamenei.
“One should not hesitate in implementing the leader's order,” hardline cleric and vocal Ahmadinejad critic Ahmad Khatami was quoted as saying by the Resalat newspaper.
“Mr Ahmadinejad must apologize to people,” said the front-page headline of Yalesarat, a hardline weekly newspaper.
Another harsh warning came from prominent conservative group the Islamic Society of Engineers.
“The people's continued support for you depends on your unconditional obedience of the supreme leader and departing from this path will have consequences,” it said in a letter to Ahmadinejad published on Tuesday.
In another slap in the face for Ahmadinejad, 210 of the country's 290 lawmakers signed a statement on Tuesday praising Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei — the intelligence chief sacked by Ahmadinejad — saying he had passed a “great test” in defending Khamenei.
Iran's top dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri also lashed out at the country's regime over the deaths in custody of election protesters.
“Those who are behind bars are being forced to confess under torture and every day a body is being delivered to their family,” Montazeri said in a letter posted on his Web site.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
RSS