Arrest of 'Taxi Driver' on Charges of Serial Rape in Mashhad

The newspaper Etemad has reported, citing Yadollah Mohammadi, the Chief Justice of Kerman, that "including the issuance of unsupported bank guarantees amounting to 571 billion tomans and also the issuance of unsupported checks amounting to 12,700 billion tomans, the total amount of this financial corruption at the Bank Tejarat branch in Takhti, Kerman, is 13,271 billion tomans." The newspaper Te'adol has reported on the economic promises of the government spokesperson for the year 1394 (2015) and quoted Mohammad Baqer Nobakht as saying: "Fuel and currency will not become more expensive." The newspaper Shahre Vahdat published a report by Mohammad Aghajani, Deputy for Treatment at the Ministry of Health, on the six-month execution of the Health Transformation Plan, stating that this report indicates "more than 7 million uninsured Iranians have been insured and a 23% reduction in the hospitalization costs of patients." During this period, "hospitals, doctors, and medical activists received 140 warnings and 1865 complaints" were also registered. The newspaper Kasb o Kar has examined the decrease in the number of working women in agriculture and stated: "New data from the Statistical Center of Iran indicates a decrease in the unemployment rate and growth in the employment rate of women; however, a glance at the statistics published by this center reveals that the share of women's employment has either not changed or significantly decreased in some economic sectors during a five-year period, especially during the economic recession." According to this newspaper, while the share of women's employment in agriculture in the summer of 1389 (2010) was "more than 1,077,000 people," this figure "dropped significantly to 766,820 people in the summer of 1393 (2014)," indicating that "the share of women's employment in agriculture decreased by 28.8% from the summer of 1389 to 1393." The newspaper Khorasan reported on Thursday about the arrest of a taxi driver and his cousin on charges of kidnapping and serial rape of women and girls. The newspaper Hamshahri, in its front page on Thursday, reported on the "11.4 trillion tomans debt of the government to public transport in Tehran" and quoted Masoud Ranjbarian, the Director General of Planning and Urban Development at the Tehran Municipality's Transportation and Traffic Organization, as saying: "Approximately 2 trillion tomans of budget should have been paid annually by the government to the Tehran Municipality based on the law approved in 1386 (2007)," and thus "over the past 7 years, the government should have paid 14 trillion tomans to the Tehran Municipality, and after deducting the amounts paid, now 80% of the remaining budget, which is 11.4 trillion tomans, should be paid to the Tehran Municipality." The newspapers Iran, Shargh, Etemad, Jam-e Jam, and Ebtekar have dedicated their front pages to the statements of Moussa Kamali, Deputy of Human Resources at the General Staff of the Armed Forces, regarding the details of the "penalty for absent conscripts" or the "purchase of military service by those who have been absent for more than eight years." The newspaper Iran quoted Mousavi Kamali as saying: "According to the budget bill for the year 1394, conscripts who have been absent for more than 8 years and are at least 27 years old and a maximum of 50 years old, and do not have the necessary efficiency for the armed forces, can be settled by paying a penalty." The newspaper Ebtekar, in its front page titled "Penalty or Purchase," published Mousavi Kamali's statements regarding "exemption by paying 20 to 50 million tomans." The newspaper Vatan-e Emruz, in its front page and editorial on Thursday, accused Saudi Arabia of a "oil conspiracy" against the Islamic Republic and the government of Hassan Rouhani of a "miscalculation" regarding Saudi Arabia's role and the decrease in oil prices, stating: "With the statements of Hassan Rouhani and Eshaq Jahangiri regarding the Saudi oil conspiracy, it is necessary to review the miscalculations of the foreign and oil ministers regarding the southern evil neighbor." Mehdi Hedayati, in the editorial of Vatan-e Emruz, emphasized that "Mr. Rouhani knows better than any other official what situation the decrease in oil prices has put his government in," writing: "The value of Iranian oil has almost halved compared to four months ago. The government has already suffered more than one billion dollars in losses monthly." While "based on the budget, daily oil exports were estimated at 1.4 million barrels, but this figure was not achieved. Now not only has this figure not been achieved, but the price of oil has also faced a 50% decrease." The newspaper Shahre Vahdat also reported under the title "Conspiracy in the Oil Market" that "oil conspiracy is the best name for the approach taken by some Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia, as Hassan Rouhani, the President, has referred to the actions of these countries as a conspiracy against Muslims, and the government spokesperson has also mentioned that Saudi Arabia's actions in the cheap selling of resources from Muslim countries is also worth considering from a religious perspective." The newspapers Donya-ye Eqtesad dedicated their front page to the "Senate report on torture in CIA interrogation rooms" and in a report titled "CIA as told by the Senate" wrote: "The Senate report on torture in CIA interrogation rooms has caused controversy and put two groups against each other. One group that defends these tactics, mainly considered Republicans, and another that sees it as a source of shame for America in international communities but defends its publication." The newspapers Resalat and Javan also focused on the Senate report and its repercussions on their front pages. The financial corruption case of 12 trillion tomans at Bank Tejarat has become "13 trillion tomans." The newspaper Etemad reported, citing Yadollah Mohammadi, the Chief Justice of Kerman, that "including the issuance of unsupported bank guarantees amounting to 571 billion tomans and also the issuance of unsupported checks amounting to 12,700 billion tomans, the total amount of this financial corruption at the Bank Tejarat branch in Takhti, Kerman, is 13,271 billion tomans." While Ali Tayebnia, the Minister of Economy, was the first official to announce the discovery of "12 trillion tomans" in financial corruption this week, Yadollah Mohammadi, the Chief Justice of Kerman, detailed this case on Wednesday, stating: "In early Dey 1392 (December 2013), a report was received indicating that a number of unsupported bank guarantees had been issued outside banking regulations at the Takhti branch of Bank Tejarat in Kerman, and this case was opened in the first branch of the Revolutionary Court and pursued. As the investigations progressed, we realized that the issue was more than just a few bank guarantees, so an economic team consisting of experts from the Intelligence Department and a special investigator took over the investigation. It became clear that a large number of bank guarantees had been issued in this branch over five years outside the regulations, and the amount of guarantees reached 571 billion tomans." According to the newspaper Etemad, the Chief Justice of Kerman also stated: "During the investigation of these guarantees, we encountered another issue where a large number of unsupported interbank checks were issued, and the amount reached 12,700 billion tomans. The process was that a bank or fund needed a certain amount of money and requested it from Bank Tejarat, and that amount was deposited through interbank checks and returned after a few days." Yadollah Mohammadi noted that "the financial transactions of 670 checks were issued in this manner, totaling 12,700 billion tomans," stating: "The damages caused by this misconduct to the bank amounted to 230 billion tomans, and currently, the principal amount has been returned, and the damages to the bank have also been paid according to the agreement, with the last installment of damages to be returned to the bank in Dey of this year." The Chief Justice of Kerman also mentioned that "two of the accused in the 12 trillion tomans banking corruption case were branch managers, and some bank staff and clients who received these guarantees are also accused in this case," stating that 12 individuals have been arrested in connection with this financial corruption case, of which "four of the accused have been released on bail, and the case is being completed and will soon go to trial." Despite the Chief Justice of Kerman emphasizing the damages of at least 230 billion tomans from the issuance of guaranteed and unsupported checks to Bank Tejarat, the newspaper Etemad reported that "Bank Tejarat issued a statement regarding the recent financial misconduct in this bank, stating that no harm has been done to the interests of depositors and shareholders of the bank." The economic promises of the government spokesperson for the year 94; "Fuel and currency will not become more expensive." The newspaper Te'adol reported on the economic promises of the government spokesperson for the year 94 and quoted Mohammad Baqer Nobakht as saying: "Fuel and currency will not become more expensive." This newspaper referred to Mohammad Baqer Nobakht as "the most media-savvy figure of the current government of Hope and Prudence" and wrote that the government spokesperson "takes every opportunity to explain the details and items of the budget for the year 94," and on Wednesday, in his press conference, emphasized that "we do not have a plan for price increases," stating: "The government has no plans for increasing the prices of fuel and currency." According to the newspaper Te'adol, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht specifically regarding the possibility of "increasing the price of gasoline and diesel" stated that "the price of gasoline and diesel has not increased and remains at the 48 trillion tomans that the parliament approved this year, and we have no decision to increase prices." This newspaper also reported that the government spokesperson on Wednesday called the statements of some members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly "unrealistic" regarding the "4.1 billion dollar withdrawal by the government from the development fund," saying: "This is an unrealistic statement. We did not withdraw anything from the development fund last year and have not made any withdrawals at all. 4 billion dollars of government revenue from oil sales was in a UAE company and due to sanctions was not deposited into the Central Bank account." Mohammad Baqer Nobakht also stated: "We are obliged to circumvent the sanctions legally, but we also have internal 'Ghodnfar' who are more inclined to give them hints." The newspaper Te'adol reminded that these statements of the government spokesperson were in response to the statements of Masoud Mir Kazemi, a member of the Energy Commission of the Ninth Parliament, who accused Hassan Rouhani's government of "4 billion tomans in illegal withdrawal from the National Development Fund" and said: "The government withdrew 4.1 billion dollars from the National Development Fund at the end of last year, claiming that when one of the foreign companies buying Iranian oil paid its debt, this money would be replaced." The report card of the six-month Health Transformation Plan; "23% reduction in patient costs, 1865 complaints registered." The newspaper Shahre Vahdat published a report by Mohammad Aghajani, Deputy for Treatment at the Ministry of Health, on the six-month execution of the Health Transformation Plan, stating that this report indicates "more than 7 million uninsured Iranians have been insured and a 23% reduction in the hospitalization costs of patients." According to this newspaper, "from the 15th of Ordibehesht (May) when the Health Transformation Plan was implemented until the 15th of Aban (November), three phases of this plan focusing on reducing hospitalization costs, retaining doctors in deprived areas, and addressing the phenomenon of under-the-table payments to reduce patients' additional payments have been implemented, and "now during this period, 313 public hospitals have been visited and warnings have been issued to violators." According to Mohammad Aghajani, in the six months of implementing the Health Transformation Plan, "the share of people in hospitalization costs decreased from 31% to 8%, in the third phase, with 6% of costs in cities and 2% in villages, nearly 3 million and 50 thousand hospitalized patients have used these services," and during this time, "hospitals, doctors, and medical activists received 140 warnings, and also 1865 complaints were registered in the 1590 system, which is dedicated to responding to people's questions about the Health Transformation Plan." The Deputy Minister of Health in this report mentioned the "73% satisfaction rate of patients regarding treatment costs" and wrote: "Before the implementation of the program, about 90% of patients went outside the hospital to purchase equipment and medicine, which has now decreased to 3.2%." The plight of female farmers and the silence of the government; a decrease of 300,000 women employed in agriculture. The newspaper Kasb o Kar examined the decrease in the number of women employed in agriculture and wrote: "New data from the Statistical Center of Iran indicates a decrease in the unemployment rate and growth in the employment rate of women; however, a glance at the statistics published by this center reveals that the share of women's employment has either not changed or significantly decreased in some economic sectors during a five-year period, especially during the economic recession." This newspaper emphasized that "in the report of the Statistical Center of Iran, it can be seen that the share of women's employment in agriculture has decreased significantly, indicating a troubling trend for women's economic participation in this vital sector.