A Senior German Parliament Representative Files a 'Formal Complaint' Against Hashemi Shahroudi

The Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post reported on Monday, January 8, that a prominent member of the German Bundestag has filed a formal complaint against a senior official of the Islamic Republic of Iran who is hospitalized in Germany. According to the report, the complaint against Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, head of the Expediency Discernment Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran, is based on allegations of mass killings of the Iranian people. Volker Beck, a senior representative of the Green Party in the Bundestag, told the Jerusalem Post that his complaint was officially registered in the Saxony state court on Sunday, January 7. Mr. Beck added that he considers Mr. Shahroudi deserving of prosecution and trial due to the crimes committed during his 10 years as head of the Iranian judiciary. Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi held the presidency of the Iranian judiciary for two consecutive terms from 1999 to 2009, appointed by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Beck stated that during Shahroudi's presidency over the judiciary, more than two thousand executions were recorded in Iran; many individuals were executed on charges of moharebeh (waging war against God); numerous executions were carried out against Kurds and Baha'is; and individuals were executed for homosexuality under rulings confirmed by him. According to Beck, some executions were in clear violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; and Iranian prisons during that period witnessed extensive torture of prisoners, for which Ayatollah Shahroudi is also responsible. During Shahroudi's presidency over the judiciary, not only did independent media in Iran lack the right to operate, but there was also a 'mass confiscation' of newspapers affiliated with the reformist faction. The Jerusalem Post reported that in addition to Beck's complaint, another complaint has been officially registered against Mr. Hashemi Shahroudi by a cultural center for exiled Iranians. The publication of a photo by the Abna news agency on Saturday, January 6, showing the head of the Hamburg Islamic Center and Majid Samiei, an Iranian-born neurosurgeon, at the bedside of Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, indicated that the head of the Expediency Discernment Council is hospitalized in a private neurosurgery hospital in Hanover, Germany, under the care of Mr. Samiei. Shahroudi's son told Iranian media about three weeks ago that his father had gone abroad for treatment but that his condition was stable and 'there is no cause for concern.' Meanwhile, dozens of Iranian opponents of the Islamic Republic residing in Germany have protested in front of the hospital where Mr. Shahroudi is being treated, demanding his arrest and trial. Ayatollah Shahroudi's access to treatment in an advanced hospital in Germany while anti-government protests in Iran have resulted in numerous deaths, injuries, and arrests has become the headline of several German newspapers and sparked significant outrage. In response to these protests, the German government announced on Monday that this senior political figure in Iran is hospitalized in the country due to a 'serious illness.' However, Volker Beck, a senior representative of the Green Party in Germany, told the Jerusalem Post that if our government grants immunity to such an individual who has committed mass killings under the guise of treatment, it has made a grave mistake. According to Beck, Germany should not become a wellness retreat for human rights violators but should prosecute them. Volker Beck, the head of the Green Party faction in Germany, has a strong record in defending the rights of Iranians and has previously made significant efforts to prevent the prosecution of leaders of the Baha'i community in Iran and to secure their freedom. Ayatollah Shahroudi, 69, born in Najaf, Iraq, came to Iran after the Iranian Revolution and fought against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq from Iran while establishing the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. He was appointed head of the Expediency Discernment Council this summer, a few months after the death of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. In some recent assessments, he has been mentioned as one of the candidates for succession to the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran, although his recent illnesses may weaken this option.