Wednesday, April 16, 2008
But did the hookers cover their hair?
Iran seems to have its own Eliot Spitzer, right down to the sanctimonious prosecution of the oldest profession:
An Iranian police chief in charge of fighting vice in Tehran was jailed today for reportedly consorting in an underground brothel.
Local media reported that General Reza Zarei was jailed after being caught with six naked women at a prostitution den in the Iranian capital.
Ali Reza Jamshidi, a spokesman for Iran’s judiciary, confirmed today that Mr Zarei had been taken to jail. He refused to elaborate further about the case, however, saying it was now “in the legal stage.”
But officials, speaking anonymously, have supported the allegations, which have been extensively reported in recent weeks.
Six prostitutes? Do they have MySpace pages?
Zarei must have gotten a better deal than Spitzer, because even a corrupt Iranian official doesn't have $24,000 to throw around.
Naturally, I have several questions. Since it was Iran, was the local prostitution "den" called "The Shah's Club"? For that matter, did Zarei get the idea to go to a prostitute from Eliot Spitzer? Did the local prosecutor decide to investigate Zarei because it read about Eliot Spitzer? Or is the story a giant frame, invented because it worked so well -- even in decadent America with only one hooker! -- in the case of Eliot Spitzer? Is Mrs. Zarei going to appear at the General's side? Is she going to call Hillary Clinton for advice?
I need to know the answers to these questions, and I need to know them now.
6 Comments:
By 
D.E. Cloutier, at
Wed Apr 16, 01:45:00 AM:
"For that matter, did Zarei get the idea to go to a prostitute from Eliot Spitzer? Did the local prosecutor decide to investigate Zarei because it read about Eliot Spitzer?"
No. The Azeri-Press Agency in Azerbaijan had the story about Reza Zarei's arrest on March 13. According to that report, the vice squad raid in Tehran took place on March 7. The NY Times had the Spitzer story on March 10.
At the time of the Azeri-Press Agency report, Iranian news media ignored the story about Reza Zarei.
(By the way, TH, Jungle Trader had the Tehran story on March 15. You should look at my blog more often.)
By TigerHawk, at
Wed Apr 16, 06:21:00 AM:
Jungle Trader had the Tehran story on March 15. You should look at my blog more often.
Jungle Trader almost always has the weird and freaky stories first, and there is no question I should look at it more often! My blog reading in recent months has in fact collapsed owing to a continuing massive work crunch at my day job. That will change.
By 
, at
Wed Apr 16, 08:22:00 AM:
First question that comes to my mind is "what happens to prostitutes in the Islamic Republic of Iran." I'm guessing these women won't get book or movie deals ...
By antithaca, at
Wed Apr 16, 09:48:00 AM:
language is such a curious thing.
a prostitute "den"...and the American embassy in 1979 was a "den of spies" according to all good Iranian revolutionaries.
The use of the word obviously comes from somewhere specific beyond simple translation.
By , at
Wed Apr 16, 11:08:00 AM:
Clearly, the good General was being diligent in his duties to the Republic, undertaking a risky underground investigation of the vice operations in his district.
The corrupt officials are the ones attempting to impede his investigation with their scurrilous charges.
By Georg Felis, at
Thu Apr 17, 08:37:00 AM:
Do you think we can trade him for Spitzer, with another politician to be named at a later date?
