Another Judicial Official Responds to Rouhani's Criticism of the Judiciary

Following the spokesperson of the judiciary's attack on Hassan Rouhani, the Attorney General of the country also expressed regret over the statements made by this presidential candidate regarding the Mizan Institute and the performance of Ebrahim Raisi in the Special Clerical Court. According to Mizan News Agency, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri announced on Sunday, May 14, that he opposed the live broadcast of presidential debate. The Attorney General also responded to a question, calling Rouhani's remarks about the Mizan Institute's affiliation with the judiciary 'absolute lies' and expressed regret over these statements. On Friday, May 12, Rouhani stated in the last presidential debate that addressing some credit institutions, including the Mizan Institute, which he claimed is affiliated with the judiciary, 'took part of the government's time to reform and return people's money.' Montazeri's remarks come at a time when the first logo of the Mizan Institute used the emblem of the Iranian judiciary, and according to Mohammad Dehghan, a member of parliament, this institute is 'affiliated with some judges' and some of its branches were also within 'judiciary offices.' The Mizan Institute, with one million accounts and over 3200 billion tomans in assets, was dissolved on June 1, 2015. The Central Bank of Iran has previously warned about the activities of unauthorized financial institutions and announced that 20% of the existing liquidity in the country is in the hands of these institutions. The Attorney General also criticized Rouhani's comments regarding Ebrahim Raisi's performance in the Special Clerical Court, stating that this institution was established by the order of Ayatollah Khomeini, the former leader of the Islamic Republic, and operates under the supervision of the leader of the Islamic Republic. He added, 'I do not think that scholars are dissatisfied with the actions of the judiciary unless they are those who are inactive and have committed crimes.' In the debate on Friday, Rouhani addressed Ebrahim Raisi, saying, 'You are the special prosecutor of the clergy, and we should ask the scholars what they have suffered from you.' In recent years, the performance of the Special Clerical Court, which examines allegations against clerics independently of ordinary courts, has faced significant criticism, and its performance over the past decades shows that it has been used in some cases to deal with dissenting clerics. Recently, after the release of an audio file of Ayatollah Montazeri's remarks during a meeting with the decision-making body regarding the 1988 executions, this court tried Ahmad Montazeri, the son of Ayatollah Montazeri, and sentenced him to 21 years in prison, although the execution of this sentence was halted through the mediation of some senior clerics in Qom. Ebrahim Raisi, who is now a presidential candidate and called Ahmad Montazeri's candidacy an insult to the Iranian people, was one of the members of the decision-making body for the 1988 executions, and although he never directly reacted to the release of this audio file, as the prosecutor of the Special Clerical Court, he facilitated the summons and confrontation with Ahmad Montazeri. Over the past few decades, expressing opinions or informing about the summer 1988 executions has faced severe media restrictions, and current and former officials of the Islamic Republic have rarely commented on it. However, Rouhani's remarks a few days ago about those who 'only knew executions and prisons for 38 years' were interpreted as a reference to Ebrahim Raisi's role in the executions of the 1980s in Iran. On Sunday, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the first deputy and spokesperson of the judiciary, criticized these remarks, stating that some 'have forgotten that one day they said some individuals should be punished in public'; a reference to Rouhani's comments in 1980 in support of executing opponents of the Islamic Republic in public. At the same time, Rouhani faces criticism for appointing Mustafa Pourmohammadi, another decision-maker regarding the 1988 executions, as Minister of Justice in his government.