"Such things will not happen again", the Minister told the leader-controlled Television, referring to the sentences issued Saturday by a military court on eighteen officials of the Intelligence Ministry involved in the assassination of at least four prominent politicians and intellectuals on November 1998.

Describing the trial as a "bad taste farce", experts and jurists immediately protested the sentences, noting that who have ordered the assassinations should have received the harsher sentences.

Dr. Karim Lahiji, a respected lawyer who is both the president of the Iranian League of Human Rights and vice-president of the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH) told Iran Press Service that Ayatollah Ali Khameneh'i has ordered the Judiciary he controls never try any of the clerics associated with him.

He also noted that like the armed forces, the state-run media, foreign affairs, judiciary and many other institutions, Mr. Khameneh’i also directly controls the regime’s secret and intelligence services.

Mr. Yunesi described the case, known as "serial murders" as "the most significant political concern" in Iran over the past two years, giving rise to "certain social crises" that, in his view, "were on their way out, thanks to the tough stance adopted by the leader and President Mohammad Khatami".

"It was not a common crime. The murderers were political figures," the Minister further pointed out, not explaining why then a military court instead of a civilian one handed the case.

It was for this reason—among many others – that families of the victims had ruled the military court as "incompetent" and decided to boycott the hearings.

Mr. Emami was reported to have committed suicide in prison, but his friends and colleagues insisted he had been killed in order to prevent the identities of the clericals who issued the fatwas, or religious authorisations, be divulged.

However, investigations published in some of the now banned newspapers pointed to some high-ranking clerics such as Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, an ultra orthodox and Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, secretary of the powerful Council of Guardians, Fallahian and Najafabadi as some of those who might have produced fatwas.

"How can he make such unconsidered promises while there are several security groups and organisations operating in parallel but independent of his administration? observed Mr. Taqi Rahmani, a journalist affiliated to the religious-nationalist formations.

Mr. Ali Keshtgar, Editor of the Paris-based "Mihan" (homeland) monthly joined Mr. Rahmani in asking whether Mr. Ynuesi knows were are Mr. Ezzatollah Sahabi and Mr. Ali Afshari, respectively Editor of the banned "Iran Farda" bi-weekly and an outspoken students leader?

Sentenced to four and a half and four years Jail because of their participation at the now famous Berlin Conference, an event that the conservatives have branded as an anti-Islamic Republic forum, the two were transferred a month ago from Evin prison to another place no one, including their families, has the slightest idea.

Speaking laconically and ambiguously, Mr.Yunesi defended the sentences, saying the judge's statement is taken as the "conclusive argument", raising the question whether he meant the case was over, as the ruling conservatives hope.

Mr. Aqiqi limited the trials to four murder cases only, namely those of Mr. Dariush Foruhar, the leader of the secularist Iranian People’s Party and his wife Parvaneh, both killed in their residence in Tehran with more than 20 stabs of the dagger, Mr. Mohammad Mokhtari, a writer and Mr. Mohammad Ja’far Puyandeh, a poet and human rights activist, leaving aside the cases of Mr. Majid Sharif, a researcher and Mr. Piruz Davani, a leftist political activist, both killed by the same men at the same time.

But opponents argue that more than eighty prominent personalities of all walks were assassinated both inside and outside Iran during the eight years of Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and his Intelligence minister, Hojjatoleslam Ali Fallahian.

Few details of the proceedings emerged, feeding fears that the truth would never be known.

"Mr. Yunesi may think that the case is over and the regime safe, but the public opinion would be satisfied only after the names of the real culprits, and not scapegoats, are known. And they will be identified, sooner or later" said Mr. Lahiji.