New head of Iranian social security office resigns

An Iranian official accused of involvement in the torture of protesters while in custody has resigned from his post after parliament threatened the government with impeachment, Iranian media reported on Sunday.    

Saeed Mortazavi stands accused of involvement in the deaths of protesters detained at the Kahrizak detention center after the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009.    

A group of lawmakers launched the impeachment motion against Labor and Social Welfare Minister Abdolreza Sheikholeslami this month after he appointed Mortazavi as the new head of the social security office.    

"I suggested to him (Mortazavi) that he resign as head of Social Security Organization in order to resolve the problem ... and he accepted my proposal," a senior lawmaker, Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel, wrote in a letter to MPs, the Fars news agency reported on Sunday.    

The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ordered the notorious Kahrizak detention center to be closed after an investigation revealed that three people had been tortured to death, including the son of a prominent conservative politician.    

In a report published in 2010, parliament accused Mortazavi - then the prosecutor of Tehran - of sending to the camp 147 protesters who had been arrested in June 2009 for protesting against the presidential election result, which opposition parties claim were rigged.    

He was later removed from his post as prosecutor.    

Last month Mortazavi was added to a European Union list of Iranian officials who are subject to travel bans and asset freezes for abusing human rights.    

Mortazavi still faces judicial proceedings over his involvement in the Kahrizak case and has been summoned for a hearing on Monday, Iranian media reported last week.    

An impeachment motion against the Labor minister signed by 20 lawmakers was submitted earlier this month after he refused to sack Mortazavi.    

Reuters