Gholamhossein Karbaschi
Gholam Hossein Karbaschi (Persian غلامحسین کرباسچی, DMG Ġolāmhossein Karbāsčī; * 1954) was mayor of Tehran from 1988 to 1998 and is now general secretary of the party Kargozaran.
He is considered politically reformist politicians in Iran and is a close ally of former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
He was arrested, convicted, and imprisoned because of allegations of corruption, which is considered by the politically supportive forces as a politically motivated attack by the conservative government.
Career
Karbaschi trained as a cleric in the holy Shiite city of Qom for and was temporarily imprisoned before the Islamic Revolution for his political activities in Evin prison.
Karbaschi was a driving force in modernization efforts. As mayor of Tehran, he became known that he demolish houses and office buildings largely without the approval of the city, revolutionary remove graffiti from the walls, planting thousands of trees and left to create new large parks. He also restricted the private traffic in the center of Tehran.
Karbaschi was with his policies unpopular with the bazaar merchants through the collection of additional taxes and contributions, so that he has the reputation of being ahead to be during his time as mayor " the most beloved and hated man in Tehran ". During his tenure as mayor launched the first Iranian - color printing newspaper, Hamshahri.
Political persecution
Karbaschi was one of the main supporters of the president Mohammad Khatami later in his first presidential campaign in 1997, which contributed to Khatami landslide victory. After Mohammad Khatami's victory began a power struggle between the reformers and conservatives. In April 1998 Karbaschi was arrested. Thousands of students demonstrated against the arrest, which took place although Karbaschi at this time was a member of Cabinet government and mayor of the Iranian capital Tehran.
The legal prosecution of Karbaschi was estimated from sections of the population as the most important part of a campaign by the Iranian clerical- conservatives to curb the reformist administration of President Mohammad Khatami, financial corruption was identified as merely advanced. In July 1998 Karbaschi was sentenced to five years in prison for corruption and misuse of funds, despite the efforts of his followers and a petition of more than 130 members of the European Parliament, were in favor of a pardon.
After his release from prison was Karbaschi Secretary General of the Kargozaran to German party of the servants of the reconstruction. Karbaschi is also Managing Director of Hamshahri, a relatively new reformist newspaper in Tehran. Multiple this newspaper was banned for short periods.
In 2009 Karbaschi supported the Iranian presidential elections, Mehdi Karroubi.
In a letter written in February 2012 on the physical and psychological torture in Evin prison to the religious leader Ali Chamene'i describes the former political prisoner Rohollah Zam as it should be brought by means of threat of renewed torture prison to false accusations against Karbaschi to raise to allow the prosecution authorities arrest Karbaschis.