Ahmadinejad's Office: The Responsibility for Hamid Baghaei's Health Lies with the Judiciary

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has expressed support for his former deputy, Hamid Baghaei, who is currently in detention, calling him a "pure and honest" individual and emphasizing that the responsibility for Baghaei's health rests with the judiciary. According to reports from IRNA and ISNA news agencies, Ahmadinejad's office issued a statement on Wednesday, June 20, regarding Baghaei's arrest, asserting that the president of the ninth and tenth terms will "firmly defend the purity, honesty, and legitimacy of Mr. Baghaei until the end." The statement, addressed to the Iranian people, describes Baghaei as a "faithful, revolutionary, and completely honest" person who, according to Ahmadinejad's office, has been targeted by "various false and unfair accusations" in recent days. The news of Baghaei's arrest, who is the former head of Iran's Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization and Ahmadinejad's executive deputy in the tenth government, was announced on Monday, but the judiciary spokesperson did not disclose the charges against him. The spokesperson for President Hassan Rouhani's government, addressing Baghaei's arrest on Tuesday, stated that announcing his charges is the judiciary's duty, yet mentioned that the current government has submitted documents of Baghaei's and other former officials' violations to legal authorities. Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad views the announcement of Baghaei's arrest as contrary to legal standards. Ahmadinejad's office stated: "Contrary to the explicit fatwa of the [Islamic Republic] leader and prevailing regulations, a responsible official mentioned the name of an arrested individual in a press interview, while avoiding stating his charges, allowing opportunists to hurl various false and unfair accusations at someone who is imprisoned and unable to respond and defend himself, whereas... the opposite should occur in the information dissemination process." The statement further claims that "the responsibility for maintaining Mr. Baghaei's health... lies with the relevant authorities," and it is their duty to provide an opportunity for Baghaei to exercise all his legal and civic rights. Previously, with the rise of Hassan Rouhani's government, reports had emerged about Hamid Baghaei in his role as the former president's executive deputy, accusing him of financial corruption, including a report published by the head of the Supreme Council of Free Zones in Iran last June, which accused Baghaei of "leasing three government buildings at a very low rate to an institute under his supervision." Hamid Baghaei is the second deputy of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to be arrested in recent months, following Mohammad Reza Rahimi, who was also sentenced to five years in prison for financial corruption.