Rape claims against Khamenei's favorite reciter 'buried'
Saeed Toosi, who is a 46-year-old Iranian competitor, and winner, in the international Quranic competition, is accused of raping seven of his students aged between 12 and 14, over the past seven years (Archives)
By Ramadhan al-Saadi, AlArabiya.net Friday, 21 October 2016
The reformist website in Iran, Amad News, has stated that the Iranian authorities held an emergency meeting to consider a strategy to end the scandal of Saeed Toosi and maintain Iran's reputation and that of its leaders, after claims he raped several of his students, sources have said.
Toosi, who is a 46-year-old Iranian competitor, and winner, in the international Quranic competition, is accused of raping seven of his students aged between 12 and 14, over the past seven years.
Sources revealed that security officials spoke for two hours in the presence of representatives of the judiciary, on the issue that was first revealed by The Persian Voice of America broadcasting from Washington. The show aired court documents and audio testimonies of the victims. The abused children revealed the rape and molestations they say they were subjected to by Toosi who was overseeing the participation of the reciters of Quran in international competitions.
Three of the victims have spoken to the Persian department of Voice of America and revealed details about the harassment and rape carried out by Saeed Toosi during his Quranic trips to more than 20 countries in the world aimed at "spreading the Quranic culture" and participate in Quranic competitions.
The victims said they had written documents and made audio recordings (including recordings of phone calls with Toosi), part of which was displayed on the show. The Latter clearly points to Khamenei's favorite reciter.
According to some documents, Toosi wrote a "repentance letter" where he promised he would never repeat the same mistake again, after direct orders from the leadership house to the court.
In an audio recording publicized by Last Page program on the Persian voice of America, Toosi was heard talking to one of his students, saying that the Supreme Leader Khameini was well aware of the situation and had agreed with the head of the judiciary Sadek Larijani to bury the scandal, in order to preserve the reputation of the "Quranic institution" within the country.
In separate testimonies, the victims said they filed complaints against Toosi to officials in the house of the leadership after many relatives advised them to. Yet these officials dismissed their pleas after Toosi wrote the repentance letter where he admitted his wrongdoings and pledged to never repeat them.
Toosi is a permanent guest in the Quranic councils celebrated by the supreme leader, Khamenei, every year during Ramadan. He also inaugurated the Shura council session last May, reciting verses from the Quran in the presence of senior officials of the Iranian regime.
This article was orignially published on AlArabiya.net
Last Update: Friday, 21 October 2016 KSA 22:17 - GMT 19:17
SAEED TOOSI
Khamenei's favorite reciter hit by rape claims
Rape victims are coming forward alleging the one of Iran's leading Quran readers sexually molested them. Saeed ...
The Iranian Quranic reciter, Saeed Toosi, is accused of raping seven of his students aged between 12 and 14