Iranian opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi called on Wednesday for a meeting with senior officials to present evidence backing his controversial allegations that post-election detainees were raped in jails.
Karroubi, who has come under fire from hardliners over his claims, made the call in a letter addressed to parliament speaker Ali Larijani, his party website reported.
"I urge you to hold a meeting with the heads of the three powers of government (judiciary, legislative and executive), the prosecutor general and the head of the Assembly of Experts and Expediency Council, where I will inform you of my documents on sexual assault in some jails," he said.
Karroubi's claims last week were immediately dismissed by Larijani as lies. Several hardliners have also said the reformist two-time former speaker of parliament should be whipped.
But Karroubi, who came a distant fourth at June 12 presidential poll, hit out at his critics again on Wednesday saying the angry reactions showed "there are some things that they want to hide by this noise."
He has also charged that some people arrested in street protests sparked by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election, have been tortured and beaten to death in jail.
Iranian police chief Esmail Ahmadi Mogaddam has claimed that detainees who died in prisons succumbed to a viral disease.
Karroubi's latest call comes soon after authorities shut down his newspaper, Etemad Melli.
Source: AFP Global Edition
