After 37 Years, Political Crime Finally Clarified

The government-aligned newspaper Iran evaluated the "Political Crime Law" as "a step forward" in its Thursday editorial, stating: "After 37 years, political crime has finally emerged from uncertainty and this plan was approved by the Guardian Council. In fact, the spell of this plan has been broken after three decades, and a step forward has been taken." Nemat Ahmadi, a lawyer and legal expert, emphasized in the editorial that "the first effect and manifestation of this law is that according to legal principles and the clarity of the law, whenever a new law is passed that benefits the convicted, i.e., those who have been recognized as guilty of security charges based on the previous law and have been sentenced and are currently serving their sentences, or those whose sentences have not yet been executed, they can request a retrial from the Supreme Court based on the new law, so that their cases can be reviewed once again in criminal courts by three judges and with the presence of a jury." The editorial also reminded that "before the approval of the Political Crime Law, those accused of security-related charges such as propaganda activities, insult or defamation against officials, actions against national security, etc., were tried in revolutionary courts by a single judge based on Chapter Five of the Islamic Penal Code, and the judge had a unified approach and made decisions based on the defendant's defenses and existing evidence in the case." However, with the approval of the Political Crime Law, "a single judge can no longer decide the fate of such defendants alone; rather, the case will be decided by three judges with the presence of a jury." Nemat Ahmadi also noted that "the Political Crime Law, like many other laws, is not without flaws, but the weaknesses can be corrected in the future and during implementation." Mohammad Reza Aref, the first elected representative from Tehran's parliamentary elections, warned in an interview with the newspaper Shargh about "the interference of the government and some security institutions" in the process of electing the Speaker of the 10th Parliament. According to the newspaper Shargh, Mohammad Reza Aref emphasized that "our serious request from all institutions outside the parliament is not to interfere in parliamentary affairs and to let the parliament decide on its own matters," stating: "Some institutions should not interfere in this regard; specifically, these institutions include the government and security agencies. Individuals in these positions can express their opinions as individuals. But let the parliament remain at the forefront of affairs, and let us accept that these 290 individuals were elected by the people as their representatives, and they do not want guardianship." The first elected representative from Tehran, who is mentioned as one of the candidates for the presidency of the 9th Parliament, discussed with reporters from the newspaper Shargh about the recommendation for cooperation and convergence of reformist representatives with moderate conservatives in the 10th Parliament for the election of the Speaker, saying: "For convergence, we have extended our hand towards the other side, but we have not received a response; however, we are not tired and will continue this path." Mohammad Reza Aref also mentioned the atmosphere of the 10th parliamentary elections, stating: "The demand of the elites has always been the presence of reformists, but this time this demand reached the masses of society, and the discourse of reform understood this request and provided an appropriate response to it." The newspaper also quoted Mohammad Reza Aref as saying: "We still hope that those who came to the parliament with the logo of the Hope Coalition will come to the Hope faction and there we will make decisions based on democratic mechanisms. Our decision-making in the Hope faction will definitely be based on the collective wisdom of the members of the faction and will not be influenced by any external factors." The newspaper Vaghaye Ettefaghieh published a photo of Mohammad Reza Aref and Ali Larijani at the meeting of the elected representatives of the 10th Parliament with members of the Moderation and Development Party on its front page, stating: "Mohammad Reza Aref and Ali Larijani, as the two main candidates for the presidency of the parliament, were among those who not only took the podium at this meeting but also whispered to each other, which attracted media attention." The newspaper Ebtekar also reported on this meeting, stating that Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman and founding member of the Moderation and Development Party, wrote: "Those who know its legislative identity know that attempts to shape the parliament from outside it are unsuccessful, and the government also intends not to interfere in parliamentary affairs." According to this newspaper, Mahmoud Vaezi, the Minister of Communications and another founding member of the Moderation and Development Party, emphasized that "to solve the country's problems, we need the cooperation of moderates from all three factions: reformists, conservatives, and independents," stating: "If the representatives of the 10th Parliament have different opinions on issues such as the members of the presiding board, these differences will not be limited to this and the issue of the presiding board members will only be the starting point." Several newspapers close to conservatives reported on Thursday about the decline in support for Mohammad Reza Aref from reformists for the parliamentary seat. For example, the newspaper Kayhan wrote: "Reformists are in the orbit of passing over Aref" and "Ali Larijani is one step closer to the presidency of the 10th Parliament." The newspaper Kayhan attributed the reason for the reduced interest of "reformist figures" in Mohammad Reza Aref to their awareness of the "low weight" of the Hope faction, stating that "as the start date of the 10th Parliament approaches, the meetings of elected representatives and the weighing of political currents have taken on a new form," but "in contrast to the 131 elected representatives present at the conservative faction meeting, 105 elected representatives also attended the Hope faction meeting." The newspaper Khorasan also evaluated the "escalation of political factions' remarks about the presidency of the 10th Parliament" as "the divergence of reformists, the convergence of conservatives," stating: "What has become clear from the remarks of conservatives is the consensus on Ali Larijani's presidency. However, on the other hand, some reformist currents and figures do not support Aref's presidency, and Gholamhossein Karbaschi, the secretary-general of the Executives of Construction Party, is among these individuals." The newspaper Etemad welcomed the approval of the 9th Parliament's bill on political crime by the Guardian Council, stating: "Political crime has become law." This newspaper noted that "Article 168 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran states that the handling of political and press crimes is public and takes place with the presence of a jury in the courts of justice," stating that after more than three decades, the "Political Crime Bill" was approved by the Islamic Consultative Assembly on February 4, 2016, but after being referred back from the Guardian Council to the Assembly and meeting the Council's views, it was confirmed by the Guardian Council on May 18. According to Etemad, based on Article 1 of the Political Crime Law, if someone insults and defames the heads of the three branches, the head of the Expediency Council, ministers, the president, or vice presidents with the "intention of reforming the affairs of the country" or makes statements against the management of "political institutions or domestic or foreign policies of the country," they are considered "political criminals." Additionally, "spreading falsehoods" is part of the "crimes defined in Article 16 of the Law on Political Parties, Associations, Political and Professional Unions, and Recognized Religious Minorities" as well as "violating the legitimate freedoms of others" and "making accusations, defamation, and spreading rumors" are also part of political crimes. The newspaper Shahre Vahdat described the statistics announced by Nasser Zargari, the Deputy for Investment, Cultural and Social Affairs of Underprivileged Areas in the Presidential Office, about the trend of depopulation in villages as "astonishing." This government official announced on Wednesday that "in the past 50 years, 34,000 villages and settlements in the country have been vacated," and currently, "there are 96,000 villages in the country." The newspaper Shahre Vahdat quoted Nasser Zargari as saying that "with the continued trend of migration from villages to cities and their outskirts over the past half-century, the population of urban slum dwellers has also reached 11 million, to which another 9 million should be added, who live in impoverished urban areas. Thus, in practice, one-fourth of the country's population lives on the outskirts of cities or in poor urban areas." This official pointed out that in 22 provinces of Iran, the cost of living exceeds income, which he attributed to "creating poverty and migration," stating that "28.6% of the country's population is rural and nomadic, but the resources allocated to them are negligible, and last year, the share of villages from the total national budget was only four percent." The newspaper Sepid reported on the opposition of the Deputy for Cultural and Student Affairs of the Ministry of Health to summoning students to disciplinary committees, quoting Mohammad Reza Farahani as saying: "Summoning students to disciplinary committees without cause is prohibited." According to this newspaper, the Deputy Minister of Health stated at a national conference of disciplinary councils that "we want this evil and vile phenomenon, where the disciplinary council becomes a tool for someone, not to occur in universities, and students should not be summoned and questioned without reason." Mohammad Reza Farahani addressed the officials of the disciplinary committees, saying: "In the disciplinary council, do not question in an interrogative manner, as it does not have a good image and creates a mindset and complex in students. It is the duty of the university president to bring the offender to his office, and that too with a suitable and fatherly approach to advise and guide." This official criticized the performance of disciplinary committees in some universities, stating: "For example, students are questioned about why they formed an Islamic association; what does it have to do with you?" He added that "if you do something that causes someone to react to your behavior and step out from under the umbrella of the Islamic system or take a position, your actions are unjustifiable, and you must be accountable," as "past experiences show that coercive language does not yield results and has the opposite effect." The newspaper Sepid noted that these remarks by the Deputy for Cultural and Student Affairs of the Ministry of Health were made in the presence of all officials who have repeatedly summoned students to disciplinary committees for various reasons such as improper hijab, inappropriate behavior, and not adhering to educational regulations. It wrote that "after the impeachment of Reza Faraji Dana and the silence that the Ministry of Science fell into, the emphasis on adhering to the laws approved by the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council in matters such as holding elections for Islamic student associations has become almost weak, and it seems that the only efforts to institutionalize student independence that have been undermined in recent years are emanating from the Cultural Deputy of the Ministry of Health." Most newspapers close to conservatives welcomed the remarks made by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic on Wednesday. The newspaper Vatan-e Emruz, close to the Steadfast Front, published these remarks under the headline "America, the Great Satan," and the newspaper Resalat also quoted Ali Khamenei as saying: "America is the greatest tyrant and the Great Satan." The newspapers Arman and Shargh also featured headlines quoting Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani stating: "I currently have no intention of presiding over the Assembly of Experts." Laleh Eftekhari, a conservative member of the 9th Parliament who failed to enter the 10th Parliament in the elections of Esfand 7, stated in an interview with the newspaper Resalat that "the moral security plan is being implemented" and "this plan creates security for the majority of people." The newspaper Hemayat, affiliated with the prison organization, reported that Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the first deputy of the judiciary, at the introduction ceremony of the head of the Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces stated: "Today, the sharpest edge of destruction and the most destruction is being done against the armed forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the judiciary because they know that the judiciary cuts off the hands of criminals and thieves and brings them to trial and exposes their agreements 2, 3, and 4." According to Hemayat, it was announced at this introduction ceremony that "Shokrallah Bahrami" has replaced "Kazem Bahrami" as the new head of the Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces.