Pro-reform cleric contradicts Iran's Supreme Leader

Ayatollah HoseinAli Montazeri

Prominent pro-reform cleric, Ayatollah HoseinAli Montazeri in response to a letter from opposition leader MirHosein Mousavi, emphasized that self-incrimination under torture is not “valid or justifiable.” This contradicts Ayatollah Khamenei’s declaration in his Fetre Day sermon that endorsed the confessions of election protesters, calling them “lawful and in keeping with Islamic law.”

In a letter on September 12, MirHosein Mousavi, the chief challenger of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory in the June presidential elections in Iran, , appealed to Ayatollah Montazeri for his guidance in the crisis that has overtaken the country since allegations of election fraud caused nationwide protests.

In his letter Mr. Mousavi reveals that he is trying to establish that people’s protests are not directed toward the clergy or Islam but rather toward the illegitimacy of the current government and the violations of their rights. He insists that he is trying to prevent people from breaking away from the system and that even if he chose to keep silent, people would not end their protest.

In a response posted today on his website, Ayatollah Montazeri lauds Mr. Mousavi for his efforts to resolve the crisis, and writes “A system where a wide range of people and intellectuals are under pressure and dissatisfied, cannot endure.”

Ayatollah Montazeri adamantly denies the validity of self-incrimination by the various prominent opposition figures that have been arrested and put to trial in the post-election protests and warns MirHosein Mousavi that his path of reform is “extremely difficult and under threat from the creators of the crisis.”

In the mass trial of election protesters, prominent opposition figures and political activists have been shown incriminating themselves and their peers in a conspiracy to overthrow the regime. Opposition and human rights groups maintain that the confessions are coerced.