Landmark murder trial in Iran

The trial is one of President Khatami's main successes

A court in the Iranian capital, Tehran, has begun hearing a landmark case against 17 people accused of carrying out a series of murders of dissident intellectuals.

The killings, which took place two years ago, erupted into a major scandal when it was revealed that senior officials of the intelligence ministry were among the accused.

Conservatives have yet to be dislodged from power

The murders have been a major element in the continuing struggle between hardliners and reformists within the Iranian clerical regime.

Victims included the Nationalist politicians Dariush and Parvaneh Forouhar, who were knifed to death in their home, and writers Mohammad Mokhtar and Mohammad Jafar Pouyandeh.

The media were excluded from the first session of the trial, which was held at the Armed Forces Court in the centre of Tehran.

It was not made known how many of those who are said to be on trial actually appeared in court.

Only three have been publicly named. They are former officials of the Intelligence Ministry, including two heads of department.

When the session ended, officials said the trial had been adjourned until Monday.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Tehran says the exposure of official invovement in the killings has been one of the biggest achievements of reformist President Mohammed Khatami.

The alleged mastermind behind the killings - Said Emami - reportedly killed himself last year by drinking a bottle of hair remover in prison.

Ministry reformed

The announcement by intelligence ministry in January last year that some of its officials had instigated the murders was the product of enormous pressure exerted behind the scenes by Mr Khatami and his supporters.

Reformist journalist Akbar Ganji is now in jail

A month later - again at President Khatami's insistence - the minister of intelligence resigned.

Since then the ministry itself - once an unquestioned bastion of hardline power - has undergone many changes.

It is now regarded as being virtually in the reformist camp.

The whole affair of the serial murders has in general played to the benefit of the reformists. But that by no means implies that it has tilted the balance decisively in their favour.

Even as far as this case is concerned, they have not had it all their own way.

Reformists disappointed

The families of the victims are not satisfied with the way it is being handled, and have said they will boycott the proceedings.

Having been granted access to the files, they say the prosecution case is flawed, omitting some key testimonies and leaving many important questions unaddressed - not least that of ultimate responsibility for the murders.

Young people in Iran are pushing for change

Many reformists have been pressing for a complete and thorough investigation of all the roots of the scandal, however high and however far back they may go.

But so far they have been disappointed.

Reformist journalists who have been exposing the case are in jail. So too is one of the lawyers for the victims' families.

In other areas of the struggle the reformists have suffered major setbacks, as the entrenched hardliners strike back after their general election defeat in February.

The reformists may have populist support, but they have yet to succeed in dislodging the hardliners from many key areas of the power structure.