Ahmad Zeidabadi Summoned After Debate with Mehdi Taeb on Charges of 'Spreading Falsehoods'

Ahmad Zeidabadi, a political analyst and supporter of Masoud Pezeshkian in the 14th presidential election, announced that he received a summons from the media prosecutor's office on charges of 'spreading falsehoods.' Although Mr. Zeidabadi confirmed this news on his Telegram channel on Wednesday, September 21, the Telegram channel 'Saberin News,' close to the Revolutionary Guards, had published the news shortly after Zeidabadi's debate with Mehdi Taeb, the commander of the Ammar Headquarters. At that time, Zeidabadi reacted to Saber News by questioning how the prosecutor's office could ascertain the falsehood of his claims and the truth of Taeb's claims in such a short time. He added, 'I know that requests for the public nature of a potential trial or the presence of a jury will not be met; therefore, my request is for representatives from the leadership institution and the presidential office to attend the potential trial to report it to senior officials.' The debate between Ahmad Zeidabadi, a journalist and former political prisoner, and Mehdi Taeb, head of the Ammar Headquarters and brother of former IRGC Intelligence Organization chief Hossein Taeb, gained widespread attention due to references to the violence against protesters in 2009 following the election results and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's announcement as president, which turned the country into a scene of protests. In this debate, organized by the 'Harf-e No' institute, Zeidabadi spoke about the psychological torture he and other prisoners experienced that year, including Mohammad Ali Abtahi, former chief of staff to former President Mohammad Khatami. Following the announcement of the results of the 10th presidential election in Iran and Ahmadinejad's re-election, the results were widely contested by supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, and after street protests, the anti-riot police and security forces severely suppressed the protesters. The crackdown intensified when Ali Khamenei, in his Friday prayer sermon on June 27, 2009, stated that the responsibility for 'bloodshed, violence, and chaos' lay with those supporting the demonstrations. Ahmad Zeidabadi, after six years in prison, 'is being sent into exile.' Among the most severe acts of violence against protesters that year was the transfer of several detained youths to the Kahrizak detention center, where dangerous criminals were kept under inhumane conditions. According to official reports, at least three young men named Mohsen Rouhalamini, Mohammad Kamrani, and Amir Javadi Far died in that detention center. Ramin Aghazadeh Ghahremani is also mentioned as the fourth deceased related to this detention center. In the debate with Taeb, Zeidabadi stated that although he believed street protests 'would not yield results,' he was arrested a day after the 2009 election, and prison officials took prisoners to the courtroom for 'show trials' to 'practice' forced confessions. He explicitly added that the head of the court was also present during the pre-trial rehearsals. Zeidabadi mentioned that when he saw a photo of Mohammad Ali Abtahi in a photo shown to him by interrogators from this court, he was terrified. He spoke about his hunger strike in protest of his situation, stating that despite reaching a state of losing his senses, he was assigned to a new interrogation team, and the interrogators told him, 'Either you confess and become a penitent, or the boss has said to take you up.' Despite detailing the violence and abuses against prisoners during the 2009 protests, Mehdi Taeb dismissed his statements in this forum. In response to his summons on charges of making 'false statements' and 'spreading falsehoods,' Zeidabadi wrote, 'In my debate with Sheikh Mehdi Taeb, the claims of both sides are false in the eyes of the other. Based on this, on what evidence should the public prosecutor only complain against one side of the debate? Has public opinion been unsettled by one side's claims and calmed by the other's? If such a claim is made, how has it been established?'