Ali Motahari: The Attackers Had Organizational Orders

One day after the first court session regarding the attack on Ali Motahari, the representative of Tehran in the parliament, Mr. Motahari stated that the attackers in Shiraz had 'organizational orders,' and his lawyer emphasized that 'some of the defendants' in the case 'hold positions.' The first court session for eight attackers against Ali Motahari, as well as two officials from Shiraz University and the student who invited Mr. Motahari, was held on Tuesday, August 13, behind closed doors. Meanwhile, Mostafa Torkhamdani, Ali Motahari's lawyer, commented on the 'presence of several military personnel among the defendants,' stating that 'some of the defendants' in the case of the attack on Mr. Motahari 'hold positions.' In an interview with the Wednesday, August 14 edition of the Etemad newspaper, he also mentioned that due to the closed nature of the court, he could not provide further details about the identities of the defendants. At the same time, Ali Motahari expressed his expectation that the charges against the 'instigators and orders' of the attack on him would also be addressed. According to Mr. Motahari, 'during the interrogations' of the defendants in the case, 'some of the instigators' have been identified, and some defendants stated, 'We had organizational orders to prevent Ali Motahari from entering Shiraz by any means necessary.' He emphasized that the police force in Shiraz, especially the head of the '20 Gol Sarakh' police station, 'are accused due to their actions,' and if the governor, the director of intelligence in Fars, and the Shiraz governor 'have been negligent, they should be punished.' He added, 'A specific institution cannot disrupt a program while other institutions and executive officials take its considerations into account and possibly accompany it.' Ali Motahari traveled to Shiraz on March 9, 2015, to give a speech at Shiraz University, where he was 'attacked by plainclothes forces at the airport' and ultimately forced to return to Tehran. Mr. Motahari has previously implied that some of his attackers are affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. This parliament member accused 'some members of the provincial security council' of Fars and 'their subordinates' on April 8 of being 'creators of insecurity' in Shiraz and disrupting the security of the city. He had previously stated about the assailants: 'It seemed that an accepted principle was in place; these individuals, who were identifiable by their equipment such as heavy motorcycles and pepper spray, indicated where they received their orders from.' 'Heavy motorcycles' are typically used by military and Basij forces in Iran. Additionally, the Kalemeh website, close to Mir Hossein Mousavi, reported on April 8 that 'well-known figures' from the IRGC and Basij in Shiraz were among the attackers on the vehicle carrying Ali Motahari at Shiraz airport. Mr. Motahari further stated that in the court session on Tuesday, only the 'charges against individuals associated with the university' were addressed, and 'the charges against the attackers are to be addressed in this session or subsequent sessions.' According to reports, the president and vice president of Shiraz University and the 'inviting student' of Mr. Motahari to speak are also among the 'defendants' in the case. Previously, Mohammad Ahmadi, the former governor of Fars, had accused Shiraz University officials of ignoring the provincial security council's resolution, but Ali Motahari denied the claims made about the 'security council' resolution opposing his speech in a letter to Hossein Zolfaqari, the security deputy of the Minister of Interior, on March 16, 2015. Ali Motahari has repeatedly emphasized the necessity of lifting the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, leaders of the Green Movement, and has called for the judiciary to 'close' the case regarding the protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election, stating that this judiciary has 'failed' in this regard.