Iran’s Foreign Ministry has summoned Romania’s ambassador to Tehran, urging him for immediate action by the Romanian authorities to reveal the cause of death of a fugitive Iranian judge in Bucharest.
The family of the judge, Gholamreza Mansouri, ruled out suicide.
Secretary of Iran's Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaee described his death as “murder” and held the Romanian government responsible.
Besides being wanted by Iran for allegedly taking bribes worth 500,000 euros, Mansouri was under the spotlight of human rights organizations and Iranian exiles for having jailed 20 journalists in 2013. He said last week in a video statement that he left Iran for unspecified medical treatment and that coronavirus travel restrictions prevented him from returning to face the charges.
Later, it was revealed that the fugitive judge was in Bucharest. Reacting to the revelation, Iran said that "he will soon be extradited."
According to Romanian authorities, Mansouri had been released from custody but kept under “judicial control”, during which he was banned from leaving the country and was obliged to present himself to authorities at their request.
Last week, the Paris-based media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) filed a complaint against Mansouri in Germany, where he was believed to have resided before traveling to Romania, accusing him of being responsible for the “arrest and torture” of at least 20 journalists in 2013.
Head of Islamic Revolution Document Center Ruhollah Hosseinian accused the Interpol of involvement in the judge’s death.
