'Physical pressure' from Iran’s cyber cops killed blogger Iranian cyber police have been fingered in a parliamentary report for the death in custody of a blogger who was arrested late last year for criticising the regime and posing a national security risk. A special committee found that although the arrest of Sattar Beheshti was lawful, he was then detained by the cyber police (FATA …
Actually in Iran, a country that teh western world derides for it's backwardness on civil rights, police who tortured and killed a suspect are being held to account and being investigated in their parliament. However flawed and f***ed up their system, at lesat some people are being held accountable.
In the UK, I have yet to hear of any police charged with abuse of power when they shot the Brazilian electrician, or even for ordinary bullying (tall photographers?). In the US, fully armed SWAT teams are routinely used for minor pot busts, quite frequently served on the wrong address, and sometimes innocents get shot and killed. Accountability = 0
"Actually in Iran, a country that teh western world derides for it's backwardness on civil rights, police who tortured and killed a suspect are being held to account ....." Blimey, are you drinking the concentrated koolaid? I suggest you go do a little reading, start here to get an idea of the scale of oppression since the Revoltion in Iran: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhollah_Khomeini#Suppression_of_enemies_and_opposition)
".....In the UK, I have yet to hear of any police charged with abuse of power when they shot the Brazilian electrician....." Your faux outrage would be a lot more convincing if you could at least remember Charles de Menezes's name. Again, more reading for you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Jean_Charles_de_Menezes
"The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) launched two investigations, Stockwell 1 and Stockwell 2. Stockwell 1, the findings of which were initially kept secret, concluded that none of the officers would face disciplinary charges. Stockwell 2 strongly criticised the police command structure and communications to the public, bringing pressure on the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair to resign. In July 2006, the Crown Prosecution Service said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute any of the officers, although a corporate criminal prosecution of the Metropolitan Police was brought under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. This alleged that the police service had failed in its duty of care to Menezes. After lodging a not guilty plea, on 1 November 2007 the service was found guilty and was fined, although the jury added that the operational commander on the day, Cressida Dick, bore "no personal culpability". On 22 September 2008 an inquest was opened. The coroner, Sir Michael Wright, told the jury that they could not return a verdict of unlawful killing based on the evidence, and on 12 December 2008, they returned an open verdict."
".....are routinely used for minor pot busts....." Ah, I think I see the probable cause of your "righteous" indignation.
" Blimey, are you drinking the concentrated koolaid?"
I'm under no illusions that many, many atrocities DO take place in Iran, and are sanctioned and encouraged by the state. Nevertheless, it's a small positive step in the right direction for them that such atrocities need a 'warrant', and such small steps are to be encouraged.
Re Menezes, bottom line is that "the police service" was found guilty and was fined (I wonder if any of that fine found it's way to Menezes' heirs or was just out of one gov pocket and into another), but no person was held responsible for their actions, even though it was individual officers and not "the police service" who were responsible for wrong intelligence gathering / analysis / execution.
" I think I see the probable cause of your "righteous" indignation."
Excellent! When someone cannot rebut an argument I make and instead descends to snide remarks or personal attacks, that's one indicator that what I said is reasonably correct.
"I'm under no illusions that many, many atrocities DO take place in Iran, and are sanctioned and encouraged by the state....." Yet you somehow think this is a superior performance to the UK's authorities. Let's see - the Iranians are accused of offing 30,000 opponents in custody during their "clean-up" after Khomeini came to power, let's see if you can find even a dozen similar cases in the UK in the same period, shall we?
"....but no person was held responsible for their actions....." But the matter was thoroughly investigated, and probably much more openly (and definitely more openly criticised) than any Iranian investigation. No person was found responsible as the killing of Menezes was an unfortunate result of a catalogue of minor and unintentional errors, and incomplete and incorrect intelligence, brought about by the circumstances and the pressure put on the Police to avoid another Tube bombing. Even Cressida Dick, the Gold CO in the operations room during the shooting, therefore the officer with ultimate responsibility, was cleared and promoted less than a year later, something that would not have occured if she had had a "black mark" on her career. The actual undercover and specialist coppers involved in the shooting really did believe they had a suicide bomber on their hands and had to kill him before he detonated a bomb, in line with the Operation Kratos "shoot-to-kill" guidelines. The difference with the Iranian matter is the killing in custody of opponents of the regime is a frequent happening, and the only reason there is any investigation/cover-up at all is because Beheshti's online presence meant he was not as easy to disappear as the average unfortunate Iranian.
".....When someone cannot rebut an argument I make and instead descends to snide remarks or personal attacks...." LOL! Your rediculous "argument" was completely debunked, the added joke was an insult meaning to imply you weren't actually as completely clueless as you made out, just that drugs may have affected your judgement and coloured your perception of the Police.
".....that's one indicator that what I said is reasonably correct." Obviously I was wrong - you are that completely clueless.
> ...that the report will state that the prisoner 'accidently' fell down a set of stairs.
I heard someone do that once. I was on Ambulance duty and stationed in a nick one day. Walking across the yard at the back when a police car came in followed by a big van. The car had a prisoner in the back. The moment they opened the door to get him out, he tried to do a runner. The tunnel into the yard was full of a big van full of police. The opposite corner of the yard had the dog pens. There were a group of officers coming out of the main office door so he ran full tilt into the only open door with no one about.
SMACK....
thud...
thud...
thud...
This led down to the cells, down a steep concrete stair case.
The police responsible have been arrested and the chief fired ?
Don't they know the proper thing to do is to claim the victim's visa had expired, was carrying a chair leg and resisted arrest - then promote the offices. Then 20years later have a public enquiry and do nothing
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
