WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Human Rights Watch praised Tehran for examining human-rights abuses at its prisons but said more punitive measures are needed.
HRW called on Iranian authorities to remove Saeed Mortazavi from his position as deputy prosecutor general and establish an independent panel to examine his role in human-rights abuses in Iranian prisons.
A parliamentary panel Jan. 10 held Mortazavi responsible for abusing detainees at the Kahrizak Prison outside of Tehran. The court held him responsible for the deaths of three detainees there as well.
Iranian authorities ordered the facility closed more than two years ago, though it remained open until July when Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei order the prison closed following the death of an inmate.
Iran cracked down on supporters of the opposition movement that grew out of frustration with a contested June presidential election, sending hundreds of protesters to prisons.
Joe Stork, the deputy director of Middle East and North Africa affairs at Human Rights Watch, said authorities should remove Mortazavi from power for his legacy of abuse of detainees.
"His unsavory history goes back many years," he said. "The Iranian parliamentary panel should expand its inquiry to include Mortazavi's past abuses as well."
