Tehran, August 30: Iran’s new judiciary chief has sacked hardline Tehran prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi, who hunted down scores of journalists and dissidents during his six years in office, local media reported today.
Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani has appointed Abbas Jafari Dolat-Abadi as Tehran prosecutor for public and revolutionary courts, the official IRNA news agency reported. It did not explain the reason for the Mortazavi’s removal.
Jafari Dolat-Abadi was the justice chief in the western province of Khuzestan.
Mortazavi, 42, was a judge before his appointment as Tehran prosecutor in 2003. “He shut down 120 publications in his time,” the reformist Sarmayeh newspaper said.
Larijani was named judiciary chief earlier this month as Iran grappled with its worst crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution following the massive protests against the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
–PTI