Ahmadinejad to Khamenei: I Expect a Decisive Order Regarding Baghaei

Simultaneously with the publication of the full defense of Hamid Baghaei, former deputy of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of the ninth and tenth governments, wrote another letter to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic regarding his situation, warning of his 'serious' condition due to a hunger strike. The letter was written on Tuesday (April 6) but published on the government's website on April 8. Ahmadinejad wrote to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that he knows Hamid Baghaei is 'innocent and pure and has not committed the slightest financial misconduct or abuse.' He added that Baghaei is 'a victim of political will to destroy the ninth and tenth governments and myself' and that the judiciary has detained him 'without any evidence and legal reference.' According to the former president, the judiciary has carried out 'a completely political action under the guise of financial accusations and in a non-public trial,' condemning Baghaei to the heaviest possible punishment and immediately arresting and imprisoning him. Ahmadinejad noted that Baghaei has not accepted the charges against him and has been on a hunger strike for '14 days in protest against the injustice of the judiciary.' He further stated that Baghaei has been kept in 'solitary confinement' since the first day of his arrest and, according to 'reports,' his physical condition is 'deteriorating' due to the hunger strike. For this reason, Ahmadinejad wrote to Khamenei that he 'expects a decisive order to prevent a major disaster and irreparable damages.' This is the latest of several letters he has sent to the Supreme Leader following the formation of a case against Hamid Baghaei and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, senior officials of his governments. Hamid Baghaei, who has been sentenced to 15 years in prison by the judiciary for embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds, was arrested on March 22 to serve his sentence. According to his supporters, he has been on a hunger strike since that time. Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, Ahmadinejad's chief of staff, was also arrested two days after he burned Baghaei's verdict in front of the British embassy in Tehran. After the arrest of these two, websites close to Ahmadinejad published two previous letters he had sent to the Supreme Leader, in which he severely criticized the state of the country and called for reform of the structure of some institutions, including the Guardian Council and the judiciary, resolving the status of parallel institutions, establishing a constitutional court, and removing the armed forces from political affairs and economic activities. Ahmadinejad has repeatedly stated in his letters and speeches that the judiciary has 'completely deviated from the path of justice.' In one of his letters, he told Ayatollah Khamenei that 'for 40 years we have had no freedom at all.' Meanwhile, Khamenei described Ahmadinejad's views as the closest to his own in 2009, and after the former president's criticisms, he stated in a speech that some 'carry out the enemy's work inside' and that 'those who have or had all the country's resources have no right to play the role of opposition.' Baghaei's defense: Am I to blame or Qassem Soleimani? Hamid Baghaei, the deputy president in the tenth government, again rejected the accusation of 'illegal appropriation' of money allegedly handed over to him by the commander of the Quds Force of the IRGC in his defense, which was addressed to judicial authorities. He added that 'even if hypothetically in this fabricated story... am I to blame or is Mr. General Qassem Soleimani, as the responsible official in the Quds Force and the deliverer of the mentioned currencies?' In this defense published on the government website close to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he added that even if cash was transferred from the Quds Force to him, 'shouldn't the Quds Force have asked for a performance report from me during this time to determine whether I committed any violation or not?' He further questioned, 'How do we know that this currency was not spent by me in the manner that Mr. General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, intended when he handed it to me?' These statements were published because the text of Baghaei's appellate court ruling stated that according to the IRGC's intelligence organization, he embezzled 3 million 766 thousand euros and 590 thousand dollars in funds that the IRGC had given him 'for matters related to African countries.' Meanwhile, Baghaei wrote in his defense that 'Mr. Ahmadinejad explicitly stated in several correspondences with the investigator and judge 1057 that this matter is between him and General Qassem Soleimani and has nothing to do with me; however, there is no trace of these correspondences in the case file, indictment, and judge's ruling.' Ahmadinejad's deputy added that 'the investigator and judge should explain what they did with the correspondences made by Mr. Ahmadinejad and why there is no trace of them in the existing ruling? Secondly, why were the correspondences deliberately removed from the case, indictment, and issued ruling?' In late March, Ahmadinejad, in an open letter to Qassem Soleimani, denied this money transfer, stating that even 'if any amount was paid,' the reason for it must be specified. He wrote that it should be clarified what this amount was 'for what work, from which source, according to which law, which request from Mr. Baghaei, and with which receipt' it was paid. Ahmadinejad also warned that he might publish 'business dealings' with the commander of the Quds Force.