Sunni Muslims have also been persecuted. In June, Molavi Imam Bakhsh Narouie, the prayer leader of a Sunni mosque, was killed in the town of Miyankang, in Sistan va Baluchestan Province. Local Sunnis believe that the government killed him, although there is no hard evidence to support that assertion. Several Jewish Iranians have been arrested for spying for Israel in the past, but in this case, the authorities never declared his crime. A month after his arrest, they handed over his body to his family, with an order to bury him without any religious ceremony.
Torture continues to be widespread during the investigation phase of criminal prosecutions.
In March, more than 150 deputies in the Iranian parliament called for an investigation into allegations that police tortured Tehran city officials during their detention. The city officials, including several district chiefs, were arrested over the course of several months last year, as part of an investigation into financial corruption in the municipality and its mayor, Gholam Hossein Karbaschi. President Khatami has ordered a review of these credible torture allegations, but this has yet to be carried out. The legislation clearly targeted activists who have been campaigning for reform in laws which discriminate against women, and fail to protect the best interests of children. Conservative forces opposing the more open debates in the media have used the vaguely-worded press law to shut down newspapers.