This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/6544055.stm

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Iranian envoy wounds 'confirmed' Iran envoy repeats US abuse claim
(about 16 hours later)
The head of the International Red Cross in Tehran says he saw wounds on an Iranian diplomat who has alleged that US forces in Iraq tortured him. An Iranian diplomat kidnapped in Iraq has appeared before journalists in Tehran, saying that a US official was present while his captors tortured him.
Peter Stoeker said there were marks on Jalal Sharafi's feet, legs, back and nose but he was unable to say if they were the result of torture. Jalal Sharafi was brought to the news conference in a wheelchair flanked by nurses, a week after his release.
Iranian media quoted Mr Sharafi saying the CIA tortured him "day and night". The second secretary at Iran's Baghdad embassy gave a detailed account of beatings and interrogations, including being whipped on his feet with cables.
Mr Sharafi was abducted in Iraq in February and released last week. The US denies any involvement in the case. The US has denied any involvement in Mr Sharafi's abduction.
Mr Sharafi, second secretary at the Iranian embassy in Baghdad, says he was kidnapped by Iraqi agents operating under the supervision of the CIA. He was released last Tuesday, a day before the Iranian government set free 15 British naval personnel it accused of illegally entering its waters, but no link has been confirmed between the two cases.
Iranian state media has quoted Mr Sharafi saying the CIA subjected him to torture as they questioned him about Iranian assistance to groups inside Iraq. He was abducted in February and held for 57 days.
'Evidence of torture' Trauma
Iranian television has shown pictures of Mr Sharafi receiving treatment in hospital and quotes a doctor's report saying there are signs someone drilled holes in his feet as well as broke his nose, injured his ear and wounded his neck and back. Looking thin and weak at the press conference, Mr Sharafi said his captors had shown him identity cards from the Iraq Ministry of Defence.
The ICRC's Mr Stoeker said he had been happy to meet Mr Sharafi in hospital because his organisation had been unable to find him in Iraq. He said an American official had been present when he was tortured on his feet with what felt like an electric drill.
He confirmed he saw wounds on Mr Sharafi's feet, legs, back and nose but, not being a doctor, he was unable to say if they were the result of torture and if so, who inflicted them. "When I regained consciousness, the person who came to me clearly introduced himself as an American and he could speak," Mr Sharafi told the BBC.
"The United States had nothing to do with Mr Sharafi's detention and we welcome his return to Iran," said Gordon Johndroe, a White House spokesman, last week. "But since I didn't speak English, I was using an Arabic translator," he said.
He dismissed the claims as "just the latest theatrics of a government trying to deflect attention away from its own unacceptable actions". "At different stages, he told me this man had connections to the US embassy and was directly responsible for me."
A psychiatrist at the press conference told journalists that Mr Sharafi was continually reliving the trauma of his torture and had been badly affected by sleep deprivation, solitary confinement and a mock execution.
Earlier on Wednesday, a Red Cross official in Iran confirmed he had seen marks on Mr Sharafi's feet, legs, back and nose.
But Peter Stoeker said he was unable to say if the scars were result of torture.
US denial
The BBC's Tehran correspondent, Frances Harrison, says there were visible scars on Mr Sharafi's feet and ankles.
But, she says, it is far from clear who was holding him.
Last week, a White House spokesman denied any involvement in Mr Sharafi's abduction.
Gordon Johndroe dismissed the claims, accusing Iran's government of "trying to deflect attention away from its own unacceptable actions".
An unnamed US intelligence official also denied any claims of abuse, saying: "The CIA does not conduct or condone torture."An unnamed US intelligence official also denied any claims of abuse, saying: "The CIA does not conduct or condone torture."
Mr Sharafi was freed in Iraq on 3 April, the day before the 15 British sailors were set free in Iran, but no link has been confirmed between the two cases.