A reformist Iranian MP, Akbar A'lami, was summoned to appear before a Tehran administrative court on Saturday to answer charges of "spreading lies" in the run-up to last month's presidential polls, in which President Mohammad Khatami was re-elected by a landslide, a source said Friday.
"The summons comes following a complaint lodged by the official in charge of the elections headquarters of East Azarbaijan province (northwest)," the source, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, told the official Iranian news agency, IRNA.
A'lami, member of the parliamentary committee for national security and foreign policy, represents the northwestern city of Tabriz, the provincial capital of East Azarbaijan in the reformist-led Parliament.
"He has allegedly insulted certain officials and published lies to distort public opinion in his speech before the presidential polls," the unnamed source said.
Meanwhile, another reformist MP, Ali Shakouri-Rad, has been given three days to show up at an administrative court, following a complaint lodged by the conservative-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), said IRNA.
"I have been summoned by Bench 1410 of Tehran's Administrative Court, presided over by Judge Saeed Mortazavi, to be questioned over the complaint filed against me by [IRIB]," he told IRNA.
"I do not know in what context IRIB has filed a complaint against me," he added, without further elaboration.
Last month, Parliament was authorized to investigate the workings of IRIB. Parliamentary deputies, who are overwhelmingly reformist, are seeking to call to account the television and radio networks.
Deputies are particularly keen to control the budget of the state media, but have also complained of its pro-conservative bias, said the agency.
Two reformist MPs have thus far been sentenced to jail. Issa Mousavinejad received a one-year term in jail for fomenting student unrest, and Hossein Loqmanian was slapped with 13 months for "insulting the judiciary."
Their fellow lawmakers have denounced the verdicts, saying the Constitution gives legislators immunity to prosecution based on their official speeches.
Over 40 pro-reform newspapers have been closed down by the country's conservative-dominated courts since last April, leading to the arrests and jailings of several dissidents and pro-reform journalists – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
