( CNN ) -- Three Iranian prison officials have been charged with murder after three imprisoned protesters were beaten to death in the aftermath of the country 's disputed presidential election , Iranian media reported Saturday . Iran 's military court announced that nearly two dozen officials from Tehran 's Kahrizak prison were indicted ; of those , there is enough evidence to prosecute 12 , Iran 's semi-official Fars news agency reported . Three were charged with premeditated murder for participating in the beatings ; nine will face other unspecified charges . The judiciary did not identify the defendants . Kahrizak officials initially said that Mohsen Rouhol-Amini , Amir Javadifar , and Mohammad Kamrani died of meningitis , according to the judiciary . However , a coroner 's reported indicated that the three were severely beaten behind bars by prison personnel , and died from their injuries . The judiciary also blamed the prison 's medical shortcomings and sub-par conditions as factors in the men 's deaths . Iranian media first reported the three protesters ' deaths nearly two weeks after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , Iran 's supreme leader , ordered the Kahrizak facility shut down amid reports of prisoner mistreatment . In the wake of the deaths , authorities fired and arrested Kahrizak 's warden . The three protesters were among some 4,000 people arrested in connection with protests following the June 12 presidential election . Thousands of Iranians demonstrated against the official result of the vote , which re-elected hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad . The government said he won by a landslide , but his opponents accused officials of rigging the results . The opposition to the results and the mass arrests were a blow to Iran 's Islamic leadership . Further tarnishing the image of the government 's handling of the demonstrations was the identification of 72 protesters killed during the unrest , released by Iranian reformist Web site Norooz in September . Putting the prison officials on trial is an attempt by the government to build credibility and maintain public order , some scholars say . But , they argue , it 's a political move that will likely fail . `` Ayatollah Khamenei will be the loser no matter what happens , '' said Ali Alfoneh , a research fellow at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute who has researched the relationship between Iranian civilians and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard . `` Does it make him more credible in the eyes of the government -- no , I do n't think so . '' He said the guards would likely be prosecuted in a `` show trial , '' noting that the Iranian government has orchestrated such trials in the past by giving in to public demands for accountability , but without holding high-ranking officials responsible for their roles in any wrongdoing . Another expert described the defendants as `` scapegoats . '' `` Even if they are some lowly soldier or some lowly revolutionary guard who was doing this , it was obviously under the order of higher-ups , '' said Abbas Milani , director of Iranian studies at Stanford . Amid earlier reports of prisoner mistreatment at Kahrizak , Khamenei ordered the facility shut down . Nearly two weeks later , Iranian media reported the deaths of the protesters . In the wake of the deaths , authorities fired and arrested Kahrizak 's warden . When Gen. Esmaeel Ahmadi Moghadam , commander of Iran 's security forces , announced the arrest of the warden , he also said no one died at Kahrizak from physical abuse and that the inmates died from illnesses . The coroner later disputed that claim . Despite earlier attempts by high-ranking Iranian officials to dispute allegations of abuse of detained protesters , government officials have also promised to investigate the supposed cases . Such a dichotomy reflects Khamenei 's desire to be both `` feared and loved , '' Alfoneh said . `` The supreme leader and the regime want to show they are powerful and ca n't be shaken , '' he said , `` and , on the other hand , they do n't want to accept responsibility . '' In August , Khamenei met with Rouhol-Amini 's father , Abdol-Hossein Rouhol-Amini , vowing that `` the system has no intention to forgive or be courteous to any wrongdoers . '' The bereaved father announced on Khamenei 's Web site in September that he was satisfied with how the government was handling the case . But the trial will not help Khamenei 's relationship with the public , Alfoneh said . `` Regardless of what the father says or does not say , the person responsible is Khamenei , '' Alfoneh said . `` Whatever he does , he has lost this case . ''
NEW : Police say defendants are scapegoats in effort to build support , maintain order . Three charged with murder in beating deaths of protesters imprisoned after protests . Iran : Enough evidence exists to prosecute 12 prisoners from Tehran 's Kahrizak prison . Officials initially said protesters died of meningitis ; later found they died after severe torture .