E/CN.4/1993/62 page 62 participating in the disturbances, who turned it into a base for their activities and committed therein the most odious acts of torture and murder. Consequently, the responsible authorities decided to amalgamate that college with the Shari’a College so that it could continue to function. The allegations mentioned in the Special Rapporteur’s note, concerning the placing of the late Imam Ayatollah Abul Qasim al-Khoei under house arrest and the Iraqi authorities’ refusal to permit the holding of a funeral service for him, are total fabrications and lies. Quranic recitations were held in the Khadhra Mosque near the Haidari Shrine in the governorate of Najaf for six consecutive days and were attended by Sayyid Muhammad Taqi al-Khoei, the son of the late Ayatollah al-Khoei, and his entire entourage. They were also attended by delegations from all parts of Iraq, who came to present their condolences, as well as ministers of religion and Shi’ite dignitaries at Najaf, the head of the Presidential Diwan and the Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, who also presented their condolences. The Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs undertook to pay all the costs of the recitations. Sayyid Muhammad Taqi al-Khoei and a number of ministers of religion in the governorates of Karbala and Najaf were received by the President of the Republic on 7 October 1992 and, during the meeting, they expressed the gratitude of the late Ayatollah’s family for the care and consideration that His Excellency had shown for the deceased and his family. We duly brought this to the attention of Mr. Van der Stoel, the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights, in response to his note containing the same allegations. Sayyid Muhammad Taqi al-Khoei has also informed him of what really happened. The funeral ceremony was conducted in the normal manner and was attended by State personalities, religious dignitaries at Najaf, the family of Ayatollah al-Khoei and residents of the governorate. No steps were taken to prohibit the funeral cortège. The allegations contained in the note, concerning the Iraqi Government’s imposition of a successor to the late Imam Abul Qasim al-Khoei, are totally false and unfounded since the Iraqi authorities have not imposed a successor to the late Imam. They have never interfered in such matters, nor are they doing so at the present time. This false accusation indicates a lack of familiarity with the practices and structure of the religious establishment (the Shi’ite hierarchy) since the successor to al-Khoei is elected by a conclave of religious dignitaries, as is well-known in all Shi’ite religious circles and elsewhere in the Islamic world. The note refers to an allegation to the effect that 1,300 Shi’ites are being held incommunicado at Abu Ghreib prison. This allegation is totally false and unfounded. If the Special Rapporteur would kindly provide us with the names of those persons, we would be able to reply in greater detail. The allegations referred to in the note, concerning the killing of residents of the marshes in southern Iraq in the wake of the military operations undertaken there by Iraqi forces, as well as the accusation that the Government of Iraq has prepared plans to drain the marshes in southern Iraq, are inaccurate and biased and, like many of the allegations made against Iraq, are couched in very vague and general terms. Iraq has already replied to these allegations contained in the reports submitted by