Ahmadinejad Accuses Judiciary Spokesman of 'Public Disturbance and Spreading Falsehoods'

The former President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in an open letter addressed to 'the people of Iran', accused the spokesman of the judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, of 'spreading falsehoods and disturbing public opinion' in response to the 'accusations made' against Hamid Baghaei. In this letter, published on Wednesday, July 19, Ahmadinejad claimed that while 'Hamid Baghaei is in prison and unable to defend himself', multiple accusations have been made against him. In a second letter written in recent weeks in support of his former executive assistant, Ahmadinejad deemed the judiciary spokesman liable for prosecution due to what he called 'spreading falsehoods and defaming Mr. Baghaei and disturbing public opinion', urging 'judicial authorities' to 'adhere to the law and respect the legitimate rights of the people'. Ahmadinejad referred to the 'two million euros' issue mentioned by the judiciary spokesman and questioned whether it was indeed an accusation. On July 16, Mohseni Ejei stated in a press interview that 'approximately two million euros in cash was with the accused to be handed over to another party, which has not been officially recorded anywhere'. Ahmadinejad labeled this accusation and other related allegations as 'utterly false', asserting that 'these unfounded statements are merely intended to defame the pure and innocent character of Mr. Baghaei and serve as justification for his illegal detention'. He then requested the judiciary spokesman to 'clearly and transparently explain the alleged two million euros, including when, from where, from whom, for whom, and where it was intended, and its connection to Mr. Hamid Baghaei, and to publish the documentation for public awareness'. So far, no official source has reported on the 'two million euros' issue, but according to the 'Emtidad' website, following the arrest of 'Yasin Ramin' due to the debt of the pharmaceutical company 'Roshd' to the Red Crescent Society, Mohsen Ziaei, the CEO of this society, told the media: 'In fact, the Red Crescent Society had purchased medical equipment from a foreign company for two million euros, which was given to the Roshd company to deliver as an intermediary to the selling company; however, unfortunately, this did not happen'. Yasin Ramin is the owner of the pharmaceutical company 'Roshd'. The Emtidad website reported that Mohseni Ejei's reference to the two million euros pertains to cash involved in the Red Crescent case. The former president of Iran mentioned in his first letter published on July 10 on his official website that he had also written a letter directly to the Supreme Leader regarding this matter. Hamid Baghaei was arrested on July 9 this year by the order of his former case investigator outside his home and was imprisoned after a bail of 50 billion tomans was set and not provided. According to Ali Akbar Javanfekr, the reason for Baghaei's arrest was the issuance of a summons and his failure to appear in court, but Baghaei stated that he had not received any summons. In this context, the Tehran Prosecutor's Office warned against 'any unprofessional comments' regarding Baghaei's case. Javanfekr noted that Baghaei went on a hunger strike in protest against his illegal detention. Ahmadinejad protested against Baghaei's 'illegal' arrest, calling it a 'great injustice'. Baghaei was sent to prison after being summoned to the court.