TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s official news agency IRNA says a judiciary panel has rejected claims made by a reformist presidential candidate that detained protesters were raped and demanded his prosecution.
The report by a three-member panel probing abuse allegations made by former parliamentary speaker Mahdi Karroubi said a thorough investigation revealed them to be baseless.
The panel’s recommendation ratchets up the pressure against Karroubi, whom hard-line clerics and commanders of the powerful Revolutionary Guards have already called for to be prosecuted.
The report comes a day after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the country’s reformist opposition that it would face a “harsh response” for confronting the ruling system.
