April 15, 2016
Vice President Shahin-dokht Molaverdi has been ordered to appear in court after saying all the men in a village had been executed, driving many of their children to smuggling to survive.
Molaverdi, the vice president for women and family affairs, has been called to answer charges of spreading lies based on a complaint by officials in the southeastern province of Sistan va Baluchestan, a Judiciary spokesman said Sunday.
The case stems from comments she made in February alleging that all the men in a single village in the province had been executed and their remaining family members needed support because they were all “potential smugglers.” She did not name the village or indicate if it was a small village, where “all” the men might number a dozen, or a large village, where “all” the men would number in the hundreds.
Iranian authorities frequently execute drug smugglers, but it was not clear if the men Molaverdi mentioned were put to death for taking part in the illegal trade.
The spokesman did not specify when Molaverdi must appear in court or what sentence she could face if found guilty.