An Iranian cleric and judge accused of corruption by the state and human rights violations by activists was found dead on Friday at a hotel in Romania’s capital Bucharest, Reuters cited police sources.
Gholamreza Mansouri is among several judges accused of graft during a high-profile trial of a former senior judiciary official that began in Tehran on June 7.
Mansouri fled Iran last year.
Romanian police reportedly detained Mansouri earlier this month and a local court had been expected to rule next month on whether to extradite him.
A Bucharest hotel had allegedly called police and said they had found one of its guests dead in the lobby after he appeared to have fallen from a higher floor.
“It was established that the man was a 52-year-old foreign citizen under judicial control for crimes committed in another country,” the police said in a statement, adding that an investigation into his death was underway.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Mansouri’s death and said it was awaiting a report from Romania.
Mansouri had been placed under a 30-day judicial control period and was being kept under surveillance, the report said.
