The legal department of the International Committee of Red Cross will be looking into the torture of kidnapped Iranian diplomat by CIA.

Jalal Sharafi, the second secretary of Iran's embassy in Iraq was abducted in central Baghdad and endured torture at the hands of the CIA while in custody.

ICRC Representative Peter Stoeker made the remarks in an interview with the "Al-Alam" News Network, thanking Iranian officials for permitting him to visit Sharafi in a Tehran hospital on Tuesday.

On 11 April, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) acknowledged that the diplomat had been subjected to torture while in custody.

Meanwhile, the head of Iran's Red Crescent Organization, Massoud Khatami has written a letter to the chief of the US Red Cross Organization, deploring the inhumane behavior of US forces towards Sharafi in Baghdad.

Referring to the 4th Geneva Convention, Khatami has called on the US Red Cross to prepare a report on the condition of detainees held by US forces and the adherence of US government to the Convention.

The 4th Geneva Convention refers to the protection of civilians during times of war, in the hands of an enemy, or under any occupation by a foreign power.

MRD/PC/DB