Iran minister sacked over forgery

Je TZ lini tutafikia hapo?

Iran minister sacked over forgery

Parliament in Iran has voted to sack Interior Minister Ali Kordan after he admitted a degree he said he obtained from Oxford University was a forgery.

Mr Kordan said he had received the doctoral certificate in good faith, but it was later revealed as a crude fake.

The BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran says the row could have serious implications for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

MPs have accused the president of grave naivety for having been taken in by the lies of his minister.

Parliament speaker Ali Larijani said 188 MPs from a total of 247 had voted for a motion to impeach Mr Kordan. Forty-five voted against the motion and 14 abstained.

Laughing stock

Mr Kordan claims he was approached with the offer of a doctorate by the Tehran representative of an institution described as the London Oxford University.

But the certificate turned out to be a obvious forgery, which was littered with mis-spellings.

The scandal has made the former minister a national laughing stock, with a fake resignation letter being passed round purporting to be from him, but full of misprints and crossings-out.

One MP said Mr Kordan - who worked as a university lecturer - had related invented tales to his students about his days in Oxford. In fact he has never visited and does not even have a first degree.

The post of interior minister is crucial in organising the presidential elections which are due to be held in the middle of 2009.

[Bull]

Tanzania Goverenment should learn about this, name and shame those fake polticians and so called Dr, professors, etc

[AbdulKensington]

Haha...but the guy is smart, he managed to lecture University students without even having a first degree!

[Pundit]

Ahmedinajad is being a staunch supported, and this may end up costing him a huge chunk of his base, possibly his presidency.

[Game Theory]

I have an honourary PhD from the universisty of Oxford presented to me by Dr Umbongo Daygoe, who is apparently the visiting professor of Nigerian studies at Oxford university and head of the department of engleesh as the university of Lagos.

The professor also tells me that he is a personal friend of the lady who plays the cheer leader in heroes, and that due to some visa mixup she needs to marry someone with an english passport, and could i oblige. All i have to do is send Dr Daygoe £5000 by wire transfer and my bride to be will join me for a lavish reception at the hatfield travel lodge next week.

So, i have a degree from Oxford, and my wife is an actress.