Ex-prison official to take over Iran’s vacant cabinet post

Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Oct. 31 – A key member of Iran’s Majlis (Parliament) is set to take over the vacant post of Welfare Minister in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s hard-line cabinet.
Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Oct. 31 – A key member of Iran’s Majlis (Parliament) is set to take over the vacant post of Welfare Minister in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s hard-line cabinet.

On Sunday, Abdol-Reza Mesri was confirmed by Majlis for the key post. Mesri obtained 191 positive votes from the 244 Majlis deputies who were present.

He will replace Parviz Kazemi as head of the Welfare and Social Security Ministry.

Kazemi had been sacked for “poor performance”.

Like many of the other hard-liners in Ahmadinejad’s cabinet, Mesri has a chequered background and is suspected of leading numerous political prisoners to their deaths in the 1980s and 90s when he served as a regional prison chief.

He is a former chief warden of Diesel-Abad Prison in the western province of Kermanshah.

Until his confirmation for the new post, Mesri was head of the Majlis Social Affairs Committee where he oversaw much of the cultural crackdown that has taken place since Ahmadinejad took office as president.