A fugitive Iranian judge facing possible extradition to his homeland on charges of corruption died at a hotel in Romania from a fall, a preliminary autopsy has concluded.
Gholamreza Mansuri was found dead June 18 in the lobby of the Duke Hotel in the center of the Romanian capital, Bucharest.
The autopsy said the 52-year-old judge and cleric died after hitting a hard surface, an indication he may have fallen from one of the hotel’s six floors that look out onto the lobby, the Bucharest prosecutor's office said in a June 23 statement.
Several hotel employees said they heard a bang, the prosecutor’s office said.
The police have taken possession of the hotel’s video surveillance to see if the cause of Mansuri’s death was captured on tape and whether any foul play was involved, the prosecutor’s statement said.
Mansuri was “under judicial control” after being arrested in Bucharest on June 12 following a request by Tehran.
His extradition hearing on charges he received a 500,000 bribe from an Iranian businessman was set for July 10.
At the same time, human rights groups and Reporters Without Borders were seeking to have Mansuri prosecuted for his role in the “arrest and torture” of at least 20 journalists.
