Ahmadinejad Protests the 'Illegal' Arrest and 'Great Injustice' to Baghaei

Two days after the arrest of Hamid Baghaei, former deputy of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mr. Ahmadinejad described this action as 'illegal' and a 'great injustice' in a detailed letter, calling for his immediate release. The former president of Iran mentioned in this letter, published on Tuesday, July 9, on his official website, that he also wrote a letter directly to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic regarding this matter. Ahmadinejad's media advisor announced last Sunday that Hamid Baghaei was arrested in front of his house by the order of his former case investigator 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 reported as a summons sent to him and his failure to appear in court, while Baghaei claimed he had not received any summons. Now, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has entered the fray in defense of his former deputy and raised several questions in his letter. He refers to himself and his allies as 'the chicken of weddings and funerals' that are dragged into every issue and mentions that in the past year and a half, the only action he and Baghaei have taken was registering as candidates for the presidential elections. It seems that Ahmadinejad implies that due to this action, he and Baghaei are now under pressure. In another part of his letter, he states as a member of the opposition to the Islamic Republic: 'A small minority should not consider themselves the owners and essence of the revolution, while the vast majority of the people are deemed strangers, anti-revolutionary, or opponents of the revolution, as this act is the worst anti-revolutionary act.' Nevertheless, Ahmadinejad also alludes to other issues in his letter, fueling speculation that perhaps the reason for the pressures on him and his allies is related to these matters. One of these issues includes his controversial disclosure in the Islamic Consultative Assembly against Ali Larijani's brother, the Speaker of the Parliament. He asks in his letter: 'One day we raised a topic in the Parliament, and it was not addressed; should we still bear the brunt of that?' He also makes a veiled reference to the nuclear agreement known as the JCPOA, which Hassan Rouhani introduced as his greatest achievement during his presidency. Ahmadinejad states: 'Is it an unforgivable crime that we stood against the excesses of England, America, and Zionism, were insulted, but did not compromise the rights of the nation and did not sign any document against the interests of the nation?' In another part of his letter, while severely criticizing the judiciary, he refers to several principles of the Islamic Republic's Constitution, including the principle of presumption of innocence and the illegality of torture. These two principles have been repeatedly violated during Ahmadinejad's presidency, according to many human rights organizations and figures. During Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, especially after the 2009 elections and the subsequent protests, hundreds were imprisoned, and dozens lost their lives; meanwhile, Ahmadinejad insisted that no one in Iran is imprisoned for expressing opinions. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed his new letter to 'the noble and great nation of Iran' and signed it as 'the servant of the Iranian nation.'