Hardline Tehran Prosecutor Saeid Mortazavi was dismissed Saturday by the new Iranian chief judge, the labour news agency ILNA reported, according to dpa. Chief judge Sadeq Amoli-Larijani replaced Mortazavi with Abbas Jafar Dowlatbadi, ILNA reported. Mortazavi was one of the most notorious officials in the Iranian judiciary involved in the prosecution of several dissidents and chief editors and a well-known opponent of the country's reformist wings. Mortazavi was also linked to the mysterious death of Iranian- Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi in 2003. Kazemi died of a brain haemorrhage in June 2003, after she was arrested for taking pictures outside the Evin prison north of Teheran. According to government investigations, Kazemi was struck over the head during interrogation which was reportedly led by Mortazavi. Mortazavi was also in charge for closing down several reformist dailies in the last ten years.
