Office Of Mohammad Khatami Raided

Office Of Mohammad Khatami Raided

Press Service Safa Haeri

The office of former reformist president of Iran Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Khatami has been “raided” overnight by unidentified people who have taken away all the computers, documents, fax machines and other equipments at the “Baran” and the International Centre for Dialogue among Cultures and Civilisations, it was reported on Monday 12 February 2007. “When employees at Baran (Foundation for Freedom, Development and Progress of Iran and the International Institute for Dialogue Between Cultures and Civilizations entered their offices on Monday morning, they found out that the floor is littered with papers, all computers, fax machines, scanners and other equipments and documents are missing”, a spokesman for Baran reported, adding that “obviously, the doors of the offices were broken”. Founded by Mr. Khatami, both Baran and the Centre for Dialogue are NOG’s promoting understanding and discussions between representatives of different cultures, religions and civilizations. Iranian independent and reformist media, including the semi independent students news agency or the daily E’temad Melli briefly reported the incident, adding that the Police is “looking in the incident”, no other media in Iran mentioned the burglary. Although other people close to Mr. Khatami have been subject this kind of “theft”, like Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Ali Abtahi, his outspoken deputy who’s portable telephone was taken away or Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, the official spokesman of his Government, whom the computer had disappeared, but this is the first time that his own office has been “visited” by burglars. “No doubt that the work is very professional. But professional thieves do not break doors for the fear of possible human presence. And why professional burglars would be interested in probably old computers, fax or scanners machines or documents with no value for them? If you can answer this question then you probably would find out who hired them”, one former security officer told Iran Press Service. In recent months, Mr. Khatami had joined his predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to oppose the antagonistic policies of the fanatic and belligerent President Mahmoud Ahmadi Nezhad, whom is accused by a large segment of Iranian leadership of having placed Iran in the grip of the United Nations Security Council, which decided economic and diplomatic sanctions against Tehran last December. As the battle raged between the so-called “pragmatists” with the hard liners of the regime, several moderate and reformist personalities and publications have been subject to this kind of burglaries, which, most analysts believe could be ordered by the office of the President, since, so far, no investigations had been launched by the competent administrations and no one has ever been arrested.