Richard Spencer (The Times)
Iranian exiles are seeking to have one of the country’s most notorious judges arrested after he arrived unexpectedly in Germany to seek medical treatment.
Gholamreza Mansouri was a prosecutor based at Evin Prison, Tehran, where many of the regime’s political prisoners are held, and later became a judge overseeing the press court.
He is in Germany at a clinic run by Majid Samii, a prominent neurosurgeon of Iranian origin, and was rumoured to have fled in the face of corruption allegations. He has been accused of taking €500,000 in bribes.
He has since issued a statement saying that he intends to return to Iran, prompting protests outside the clinic in Hanover. Kaveh Moussavi, a UK-based Iranian exile lawyer, says he is in contact with the German prosecution authorities with a view to arresting him for human rights abuses. Mr Moussavi, who has also brought charges against other regime oMcials in Europe, said that Mr Mansouri oversaw the torture of suspects and, as a judge, jailed dozens of journalists.
“We have managed to secure two witnesses whose credibility I have thoroughly checked,” he told The Times.
Mr Mansouri came to prominence after the 2009 “green movement” against the
re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president. He led a crackdown on newspapers and, according to the US-backed opposition station Radio Farda, jailed 20 journalists on one day in 2013.
Mr Moussavi said he would initiate proceedings in Sweden and Norway, where his witnesses live, as well as Germany. All the countries have laws allowing extraterritorial jurisdiction for cases involving crimes against humanity.
