Karroubi could face trial for abuse claims

TEHRAN, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Iranian opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi could stand trial for his claims that detained dissidents were abused in prison, Iran's state-run media reports.

Karroubi claimed in August that a number of male and female prisoners locked up in the wake of post-election violence in June were raped or otherwise abused in prison.

Karroubi in a letter to influential Iranian cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani claimed detainees told him that a number of female prisoners were "savagely" raped in prison.

Abbas Jafar Dolatabadi, a prosecutor in Tehran, said although Karroubi's clerical credentials made him subject to the court for clergymen, his office was handling the investigation into his statements, the officials Islamic Republic News Agency reports.

"The report of the judiciary panel has been given to us and we are investigating it," he said.

A special panel tasked with examining his claims found in September there was no evidence to back the allegations of abuse, calling his statements "unsubstantiated" and "totally fabricated," the BBC reports.

Tehran held a series of trials in the wake of the disputed June 12 election, claiming dissidents were attempting a soft overthrow of the conservative regime.