Ahmadinejad to Khamenei: Personal Exploitation of the Judiciary Has Ruined Its Reform Opportunities

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former President of Iran, criticized the performance of the country's three branches of government in a letter to Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. In the letter, Ahmadinejad wrote: "The abnormal, unjustified, and illegal insistence on personal and political positions and the interference of those positions in judicial matters and the exploitation of judicial power in political, personal, and familial relations have deprived those officials of the opportunity to address and reform the judiciary and to safeguard against errors and injustices and to strive to solve the main issues of the country and to restore the rights of the people." In recent weeks, Ahmadinejad and his associates have strongly criticized the state of the judiciary. Last week, Ahmadinejad stated in an interview that there was no intention to have a "dictatorship of the judiciary." He also wrote in his letter to the Iranian leader: "Judicial officials, who should guarantee the freedom of the people and security and justice, are accused in public opinion for various reasons, and their repeated positions and denials have not only failed to improve the situation but have worsened it." The former president further noted that the existence of about 17 million judicial cases in the country is a sign of "the vast majority of Iranian families being involved in legal disputes" and a clear indication of "the disarray and incompetence of judicial officials and fundamental flaws in that system." Ahmadinejad emphasized: "Public dissatisfaction with the state of the country and the judiciary is unprecedented, and the cries of the people for injustice and improper relations have reached the heavens." He also stated: "Unfortunately, today a mere minority considers themselves the absolute right, the sole owners of the country and the revolution, and the masters of the people, possessing the absolute right to governance, treating the masses as subjects and insisting that their will, understanding, and opinion, even against public opinion and national interests, be executed by any means possible, even through coercion and pressure." Ahmadinejad remarked: "Under various pretexts and with violent actions, the path for any form of criticism, protest, and freedom of expression has been blocked, and a small group and a few specific families are trying to monopolize the power and positions derived from the people's revolution for themselves and to consolidate the rule of factions and clans of wealth and power." In recent days, Ahmadinejad's close associates have also harshly criticized the judiciary. For instance, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, Ahmadinejad's chief of staff, called the judiciary "oppressive and deviant" and invited its officials to a debate, stating that they "lack the courage and audacity" for such an action. He added that standing against this "deviant" judiciary is an honor. Meanwhile, just hours before the release of Ahmadinejad's latest letter, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the Iranian judiciary, described Ahmadinejad's recent statements about the judiciary as containing "dozens of lies, insults, and bluster." The judiciary spokesperson also likened Ahmadinejad to a "thug" who had "fallen out of favor" and was now "cursing" to attract attention. In this context, an official from Ahmadinejad's government published a document regarding the gifting of gold coins to high-ranking officials, while Hamid Baghaei called for the resignation of Iranian judiciary officials.