[Ppnews] CIA Tortures Iranian Diplomat

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via ANTIFA INFO-BULLETIN, No. 812
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CIA TORTURED ME IN IRAQ, CLAIMS FREED IRANIAN DIPLOMAT
Allegations spark fresh speculation of secret deal
_________________________________________________________________________

THE OBSERVER
World News
Sunday April 8, 2007
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2052495,00.html
Robert Tait in Tehran and Gaby Hinsliff

An Iranian diplomat who was freed last week, two months after being 
seized in Iraq, said yesterday that he had been tortured by the CIA 
while in captivity at an Iraqi government installation.

The claims by Jalal Sharafi on Iranian state television will lead to 
fresh speculation that the diplomat was freed as part of a deal to 
secure Wednesday's release of 15 British servicemen seized by the 
Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

The allegations also come amid continuing political fall-out over the 
two-week hostage crisis in both London and Tehran, with both Iran's 
President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Prime Minister Tony Blair being 
criticised for their behaviour during the stand-off.

While Sharafi's claims are very similar to those made by the 
servicemen on their return to Britain, the recent US history of 
renditions, kidnapping and abuse make them difficult to ignore.

Although US officials denied yesterday any role in Sharafi's 
abduction, his release has led inevitably to suspicion that it was 
part of a secret deal that has also seen US forces grant access to 
five other detained Iranians in Iraq.

Sharafi was kidnapped in February by gunmen wearing Iraqi army 
uniforms. When he was released on Tuesday, Iraq's Foreign Minister, 
Hoshyar Zebari, said the diplomat was in good health but 'did not 
know who had held him'.

Sharafi, however, says he was abducted by agents bearing Iraqi 
Defence Ministry ID cards. He said he was taken to a base near 
Baghdad airport, where he was questioned in Arabic and English.

'Questions asked by CIA agents were about the presence and influence 
of Iran in Iraq. They asked questions about the amount of aid Iran 
provided to the government of [Iraqi Prime Minister] al-Maliki, Shia, 
Sunni and Kurdish groups,' he said.

'When they were faced with my answers about the official relationship 
of Iran with the Iraqi government and officials, they increased the 
tortures. Many days they tortured me day and night,' he said.

And as Britain and Iran continued to swap accusations, evidence was 
emerging in Tehran that both conservative and reformist Iranians were 
increasingly disillusioned with Ahmadinejad, arguing that the 
televised scenes of the Iranian President personally greeting the 
bemused Britons moments after announcing their release had brought 
ridicule on the country's Islamic system.

A fundamentalist MP, Emad Afrough - chairman of the Iranian 
parliament's powerful cultural committee - denounced the performance 
as 'inappropriate': 'It is not befitting for any government that the 
entire cabinet bids farewell to 15 military personnel who had 
hitherto been recognised as invaders of Iran's territorial waters,' 
he told The Observer.

The criticism was echoed by Saeed Leylaz, a pro-reformist 
commentator, who said: 'The origin of this show has been the 
humiliation of the country of Iran. You capture people and then you 
send them out with suits, shirts, sweets and gifts to take back to 
Britain. It's embarrassing.'

Ahmadinejad - who has come under pressure over Iran's worsening 
economy - was thought at first to have wrong-footed his critics with 
the theatrically staged ceremony last Wednesday.

The political fall-out was not limited to Iran. In London, too, 
friction has emerged between Downing Street and the Foreign Office 
amid claims that the tougher line taken by Tony Blair may have 
delayed the release of woman sailor Faye Turney.

Margaret Beckett, the foreign secretary, has faced accusations that 
she was sidelined during the drama, leaving the Prime Minister's 
foreign policy adviser, Nigel Sheinwald, to make the real 
breakthrough. However, this weekend friends insisted the Foreign 
Office's 'softly-softly' approach had paid off.

Whitehall sources disclosed that the parading of Turney had backfired 
on Iran in the Arab world, costing it the support of Muslim countries 
who believed it was wrong for a woman to be held captive.

Syria was among influential neighbours that helped pressure Iran into 
releasing the sailors, while the Turkish Prime Minister also 
interceded on Britain's behalf.

Copyright Guardian News and Media Limited 2007

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