Austrian officials said Wednesday they were checking an accusation by an exiled Iranian journalist living in France that Iranian presidentelect Mahmood Ahmadinejad was involved in the 1989 murder of an Iranian Kurdish leader in Vienna.

The ministers of justice and the interior said there were "checking" the allegation, which was made public by environmentalist deputy Peter Pilz.

Pilz charged on Saturday that Austria had documents proving that Ahmadinejad was directly involved in preparations for the murder of Kurdish chief Adbel Aahmane Ghassemlou.