Grandson of former Iranian president freed on bail

Tue, 23 Mar 2010

Tehran - The grandson of former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani has been freed on bail, Fars news agency reported Tuesday.

Hassan Lahouti was arrested at Tehran's IKA airport late Sunday on his return from London and taken to an undisclosed prison.

Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi told Fars that Lahouti was released after the completion of investigations, but declined to say when or how much bail was paid.

The charges against Lahouti were not known, but President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his administration have several times accused the Rafsanjani clan of financial misdeeds.

Lahouti is the son of Rafsanjani's daughter Faezeh, a staunch opponent of Ahmadinejad who has been arrested several times for attending protest demonstrations against the president.

Rafsanjani was one of the architects of Iran's Islamic system, served as parliament speaker and later as president for two terms (1989-1997).

In line with the opposition, Rafsanjani accused Ahmadinejad of fraud in the June presidential voting and has not yet acknowledged his re-election.

The Rafsanjani clan is one of the wealthiest in Iran. The former president has been accused of nepotism, but the charges have never been seriously followed up.

Ahmadinejad vowed before the presidential election to put an end to any financial abuse by former officials.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/315463,grandson-of-former-iranian-president-freed-on-bail.html.