CNN reports about riots in Iran 'biased, false': Iranian FM

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
1 Mar 23:32
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The Iranian Foreign Minister says "no one was arrested in peaceful demonstrations" in Iran.

A screenshot showing Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian denied CNN's claims about the alleged sexual abuse of female detainees in Iran, pointing out that the American news network has published biased and false reports about the recent riots in Iran.

"There have been so many such unfounded claims made in social media and the media," Amir-Abdollahian said in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour which was aired on Wednesday, referring to the network's claims about some Iranian women being tortured and raped under arrest.

"We have seen some of CNN’s reports that are biased and false," the Iranian Minister pointed out, adding that "no one was arrested in peaceful demonstrations."

However, Amir-Abdollahian explained that "in those protests that had turned violent, some individuals who had come from outside the country and were using firearms and killing the police were arrested."

CNN spoke with a woman in Iran who says she was detained in a Revolutionary Guard facility for over a month and raped by three different men. I asked Iran’s Foreign Minister @Amirabdolahian whether he considers that abuse acceptable. pic.twitter.com/CSLv27SFF6
— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) March 1, 2023

According to the top Iranian diplomat, all those who were arrested during the riots, excluding people committing murder, were later released from custody following a decree by Iranian leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei to grant them amnesty.

It is noteworthy that in late April 2022, Sayyed Khamenei agreed to pardon or reduce the sentences of 1,542 persons convicted by the general and revolutionary courts, the military judiciary, and governmental bodies in Iran.

The Iranian leader's approval to pardon or commute the sentences of these convicts came on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr.

Seyyed Khamenei granted his approval to this proposal, in accordance with Clause 11 of Article 110 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

It is worth noting that the Iranian leader routinely pardons prisoners on religious holidays.

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