Hillarysworld

Clinton Deplores Reported Iranian Prisoner Abuse
By David Gollust State Department 29 July 2009

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband (l) and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department in Washington, 29 Jul 2009

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday she deplores the reported abuse in custody of Iranians rounded up in protests of the country's disputed June 12 presidential election. Clinton discussed the situation in Iran with visiting British Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

The comments by Clinton at a press appearance with her British counterpart were the first by a senior U.S. official on the multiple reports from Iran this week that detainees in the crackdown by the Tehran government may have been tortured, and some killed, while in detention.

Clinton hailed what she termed the "incredible courage" of Iranian election protestors in standing up against what they viewed as an infringement of their rights, and said the alleged abuse of prisoners is deplorable.

"We deplore that," said Hillary Clinton. "We believe that it is imperative for the Iraqi authorities to release political prisoners, to treat them appropriately and humanely, and it is something that is very much telling, because their continuing detention and abuse of political prisoners certainly suggests that the political situation inside of Iran has not yet resolved itself."http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-07-29-voa64.cfm