Iranian cleric says country is neither Islamic, nor republic

Oct 26, 2009, 21:18 GMT

Tehran - An Iranian opposition cleric said Monday that Islam in Iran has been made meaningless by the Tehran regime.

'They derailed the Islamic Republic by having eradicated the republic part and made the Islamic part meaningless,' Mehdi Karroubi said.

Karroubi, leader of the opposition Etemad Melli party, is one of the harshest critics of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

'It is really absurd that in a country one faction rules and does whatever it wants, and other factions have de facto nothing to say,' he said in a video posted on his party's website.

Following June's disputed presidential election, Karroubi and other opposition figures accused the government of fraud and have not acknowledged Ahmadinejad's re-election.

After the moderate cleric alleged torture and even rape against post-vote detainees, the Iranian judiciary started legal action against Karroubi.

He was attacked on Friday by pro-Ahmadinejad supporters at the Tehran press fair and eventually forced to retreat from the venue.

'These moves are made to make me stay home, but I am not afraid of these attacks and will continue going to public venues,' Karroubi said in the video.