A prominent Iranian cleric called on Monday for opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi to be lashed over his claims that some election protesters were raped or tortured in custody. "In religious teachings if someone accuses another of sexual crime and he is unable to prove it, then he should receive 80 lashes," cleric Ahmad Khatami was quoted as saying by the Kayhan newspaper.
"Now Mr Karroubi has accused the regime and his allegations were rejected by two branches of the regime," said Khatami, according to AFP.
Meanwhile, Karroubi's son Hossein conveyed on his father's party website that the regime had ordered a "temporary ban" on the publication of his newspaper Etemad Melli (National Confidence) on Sunday. According to him, this action was launched because his father had printed "responses to insults against him" over the rape claims.
On his part, Tehran prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi told the Mehr news agency that the paper was not banned but did not hit the newsstands because of "technical problems." "The reason for the paper not being published is due to problems at the printing house and the paper was not banned," Mortazavi said.
