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News & Views Plotters blamed for Iran murders By Genevive Abdo in Tehran Three Iranian intellectuals have been found dead and a fourth has gone missing in recent days, bringing a macabre mystery to the country's political struggle and casting doubt on President Mohammed Khatami's ability to maintain order. Yesterday the authorities announced that they had discovered the third victim, missing since Wednesday. Mohammed Jafar Pouyandeh, a 45-year-old translator and author, was found strangled and dumped underneath a bridge in Shahriar, a Tehran suburb. The body of a dissident poet, Mohammed Mokhtari, was discovered on Wednesday. He had disappeared last week. Javad Sharif, a writer who returned to Iran from exile two years ago, was found dead in suspicious circumstances. Prouz Davna, the fourth writer, is presumed dead. No one has been charged with the killings. But the similarities the victims shared in life, and now in death, strongly suggest the murders were politically motivated. Pouyandeh and Mokhtari were among six prominent secular writers summoned before an Islamic revolutionary court in October. They were trying to re- establish an independent writers' and journalists' union that existed before the 1979 Islamic revolution. The interior and intelligence ministries have launched an official inquiry into the killings. The deputy interior minister, Mostafa Tajzadeh, said the attacks reflected a "dangerous plot aimed at insinuating a lack of security in Iran". That may well be the plan. Violent deaths are rare in today's Iran and with each killing Mr Khatami's tenuous hold on law enforcement is exposed. The security forces, including the intelligence service, report to the country's conservative supreme leader rather than to the president. Now Mr Khatami's staunch supporters are questioning whether his reformist government will ever have the political strength to deliver on their promises of a "civil society" based on law and order. Writers and journalists who helped Mr Khatami win a landslide victory in May last year feel threatened. One scholar said he had rejected a lucrative offer to write an introduction to a book of essays for fear he would be the next target. One group of intellectuals even sent an open letter to Mr Khatami, appealing for protection. Mr Tajzadeh said the murders threatened Mr Khatami's drive towards liberalisation. "These kidnappings and murders are not coincidental," he said. "There is a direct connection between them - In every society, the first priority lies with security. People will pay any price to get that security, even if they lose their legitimate rights and freedoms." Other officials have resorted to conspiracy theories to explain the killings, blaming Israel and the United States. "I have no doubt that these plots have been carried out by foreigners who want to question the tranquillity and security of the country," said Mohammed Javad Larijani, a conservative MP. "Enemies cannot tolerate the consolidation of the Iranian republic and cannot see there is a people's government in this country." Jafar Golbaz, a member of the parliament's judiciary committee, offered a similar explanation: "Our internal and external enemies are trying to tarnish the nation's security, and present the Khatami government as being inefficient." Since Mr Khatami came to power, one of the most noticeable changes has been the expansion of freedom of expression. Newspapers are presenting liberal views, art is flourishing and the perimeters of political debate have widened. But fear has always been in the shadow of freedom. In light of the latest murders, many who favour a more liberal society are placing their ambitions on hold. * Iran News
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