Reports: Iranian official dismissed in fake Oxford degree scandal dies
Associated Press
11/23/09 6:50 AM PST
TEHRAN, IRAN — Former Iranian Interior Minister Ali Kordan, who was dismissed after being accused of faking a law degree from the University of Oxford, has died, reports said Monday. He was 51.
Kordan died of heart failure Sunday after weeks of treatment for pulmonary and pancreatic problems, according to reports in Iranian newspapers and news agencies.
Iran's parliament dismissed Kordan in 2008 after questions arose over his credentials from Oxford. The university denied it awarded him an honorary doctorate of law.
Kordan claimed his impeachment was a conspiracy by Iran's foreign enemies, including the U.S. and Israel.
His alleged Oxford diploma, dated June 2000, was imprinted with a purported Oxford seal but was riddled with spelling and grammar mistakes.
