The judge and a defense attorney in the trial of 18 reformists for endangering state security by attending a conference in Berlin clashed Saturday over whether a document found at one defendant's home was classified.
The "confidential document was destined for the Ministry of Information and for Justice and should not have been found" at the home of journalist and defendant, Akbar Ganji, said Hassan Ahmadi-Moqadessi, the revolutionary court's chief judge.
The classified document contained information from foreign press reports concerning the murder of Iranian reformists and intellectuals in 1998. The court said that it had been compiled by the Ministry of Culture.
Ganji attorney Gholamali Riyahi challenged the judge, claiming the papers were not official documents.
Ganji, 47, is one of the 18 Iranians standing trial for their participation the Berlin conference last April.
The government has labeled the conference, sponsored by the Heinrich Boell Institute -- an organization with close ties to the German Green Party -- as hostile to Iran's government. The court has alleged that un-Islamic behavior occurred at the conference, including dancing by a female in a sleeveless shirt.
On Friday, Ganji had declared his innocence to the court and accused several government figures, including former intelligence minister Ali Fallahian of murdering reformists and intellectuals in 1998.
According to press reports, the document had also been found in the home of Ezatollah Sahabi, an influential reformist, who is also on trial for attending the Berlin conference.
Khalil Rostam-Khani, a militant communist, was also scheduled to appear before the court on Saturday – TEHRAN (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
