Iran clerics call for Khameneis removal

In their 11-page letter,the clerics blamed Ayatollah Khamenei for the violence after the elections,in which dozens of people,and possibly many more,were killed.

They accused him of turning the Revolutionary Guards into his own private guard,and the media into an instrument to defend and propagate him.

They wrote that fear of Khamenei made it impossible for them to sign their names: There is such a dictatorship that we,as defenders of religion who are also close to public officials,have to practice Taqieh,a reference to a Shiite practice of lying for expediency.

A prominent Iranian cleric and a former lawmaker said on Sunday that they had spoken to some of the authors and had no doubt the letter was genuine. NYT

TRIALS FOR PRISON ABUSE?

TEHRAN: Irans new judiciary head Sadeq Larijani suggested on Monday that he would prosecute security agents accused of torture in the post-election crackdown. Larijani was sworn in as head of the powerful judiciary on Monday after being named to the post by Khamenei.

Larijani is the brother of Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani,who is seen as a top conservative rival of the President. AP