Arrest of the Shadow Mayor

The newspaper Shargh reported on its front page on Monday about the "Arrest of the Shadow Mayor" and wrote: "A news that has been rumored many times about Eisa Sharifi, the 'shadow mayor' of Tehran for the past 12 years, which the previous urban management officials were reluctant to officially announce, has finally been confirmed by the spokesperson of the judiciary." According to the newspaper, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei announced on Sunday: "The arrest of Eisa Sharifi is correct, and his charges are financial; I do not have details about the news, and even if I did, I would be unable to disclose them." The newspaper pointed out that "Eisa Sharifi was the manager of Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who came to the Tehran municipality from the beginning like other military managers and held the highest responsibility, remaining in the position of deputy mayor and regional affairs until last year." It stated that Eisa Sharifi "after Farhad Yaghoubi was the record holder for not changing in his deputy position; he is the only 12-year manager of Qalibaf" who since 2005 has announced many urban inaugurations and important news only in interviews with media affiliated with the municipality, had a permanent presence at inauguration ceremonies, and even attended the city council sessions to present performance reports of the municipalities, but this presence noticeably ceased from 2013, and since then rumors of his absence and abandonment of responsibility in the municipality and council spread, but no one confirmed this matter." Shargh reminded that Eisa Sharifi "during the three periods when Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf aspired for the presidency, was the acting deputy mayor of Tehran for about a month each time" and "he and his deputy can be called the black box of the Tehran municipality." The newspaper referred to the absence of Qalibaf's deputy in the 384th session of the Tehran City Council (June of this year), stating that after that, "Nasser Amani, the deputy of planning at the Tehran municipality, officially announced the resignation of Eisa Sharifi, saying that he resigned due to 'his child's illness' and emphasized that Eisa Sharifi is 'loyal, capable, compassionate, and hardworking,' but 'the political atmosphere prevailing in society has become unhealthy and toxic, so that even the warriors and front-line men, those who have sacrificed their lives sincerely, are easily treated unfairly and politically attacked.'" The newspaper Etemad reported on its front page that Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson of the judiciary, on Sunday announced "details of the Supreme National Security Council meeting regarding the house arrest" and said that the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard "remains in place." This newspaper quoted Mohseni Ejei as saying: "In the Supreme National Security Council in March 2011, based on resolution 544, the house arrest was approved, and members defined a mechanism whereby the Ministry of Intelligence under the supervision of the judiciary is obliged to carry out these actions regarding the house-arrested individuals. This discussion (of house arrest) was raised in the recent meeting of the Supreme National Security Council, which, of course, was not on the council's agenda," and "in this meeting, it was again decided that the house arrest remains in place." Meanwhile, the newspaper Bahar in a report titled "One Resolution, Two Narratives" referred to "the differing statements of the spokespeople of the two branches regarding house arrest and the fate of the house-arrested individuals" and wrote: "Last week, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesperson, in his first press conference in the twelfth government, announced the review of this issue in the Supreme National Security Council in response to a question about the house arrest case and with a tone that indicated optimism, mentioned that there would be news on this matter that would be communicated to the public by Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council," but "now, just a few days after the hopeful signs that could be seen in the spokesperson's remarks, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson of the judiciary, in his press conference announced the review of the house arrest resolution and the vote of the members of the Supreme National Security Council to continue it." The newspaper Bahar emphasized that "the house arrest goes back to a resolution from February 2011, which has recently returned to the headlines due to the illness of the house-arrested individuals," and wrote: "The government spokesperson's narrative of the house arrest resolution is an optimistic narrative for the opponents of the house arrest, while what the judiciary spokesperson narrates is a sweet narrative for the supporters of the house arrest," but "what do these two contradictory narratives of a single event stem from? Do we have to deal with two resolutions, or God forbid, is one of the two spokespersons providing a fabricated or incomplete narrative to the audience and the media?" This newspaper wrote: "Considering the news from the judiciary spokesperson regarding the reaffirmation of the house arrest, it seems that it is time for President Rouhani, as the head of the Supreme National Security Council, to clearly and transparently state his position to the people who voted for him in the hope of lifting the house arrest as one of their demands, to clarify how the majority-elected representative views this complex and multi-dimensional case. From the evidence, it appears that Rouhani's silence on this specific issue has reached a definitive deadlock, and there is a need for a serious reconsideration in the government's approach to this issue." The newspaper Khorasan in a note titled "A Proposal for Lifting House Arrest" wrote: "It is suggested that if the reformist leaders and Mr. Khatami want to lift the house arrest, instead of making a general demand, they should enter the scene and guarantee the maintenance of the country's peace and security; this guarantee must first be made by Mr. Khatami himself, as only his guarantee will yield the results mentioned, and secondly, it should be announced publicly through an official document." Mohammad Saeed Ahadian, the editor-in-chief of Khorasan and a figure close to the principlist faction, in "A Proposal for Lifting House Arrest" wrote that "Mr. Khatami's 'public guarantee' will have several results that will significantly help lift the house arrest: Firstly, this public guarantee will directly impact the maintenance of security after the house arrest, because if Mr. Mousavi or Karroubi wanted to create a tense atmosphere in the country as predicted, they would not only not be supported by a significant portion of their former supporters who accept Mr. Khatami's leadership, but they would likely be condemned, and this itself would become a deterrent against creating tensions." The Khorasan editor emphasized that with "Mr. Khatami's 'public guarantee,' the regime's authoritative position in lifting the house arrest as an absolute necessity is preserved, as the reason for the house arrest becomes clear to public opinion, namely that the regime is not acting out of weakness but rather according to policy from the beginning until now, and has lifted the house arrest as a result of the removal of the reason for it," and "thirdly, the responsibility for the security and tranquility of the country falls on those who are currently making demands without holding themselves accountable to the people; therefore, there are two possibilities: either they can maintain this tranquility, in which case the regime achieves its main goal, or they cannot, in which case they will be forced to fully cooperate with any new security measures from the regime, and the demand for lifting the house arrest will be permanently closed." The Khorasan newspaper also wrote that in this case, holding a trial after lifting the house arrest could also be ruled out, as "the leadership of the regime, just as it passed over the criminality and issuance of a verdict 20 months after the elections and during the more than six years of house arrest due to Islamic compassion and the interests of the people, will also forgive in the future." The editor of Khorasan wrote: "It would be good for Mr. Mohammad Khatami, Ali Motahari, and others like them to take responsibility for guaranteeing the security and tranquility of the country instead of demanding the lifting of the house arrest from the regime, as this would be the best help in resolving the matter, and of course, if they are not willing to accept such a responsibility, which can be predicted given their understanding, it will become clear to public opinion how genuine and compassionate the current demands for lifting the house arrest are and how much they are aimed at gaining political benefits." The newspaper Aftab Yazd reported that Ezzatollah Zarghami, the former head of the state television, in a television interview, referred to "the withdrawal of security forces from (inside) Mehdi Karroubi's house" and raised the question of what would happen if this trend continued and the house arrest were gradually lifted. However, this newspaper noted that a program host, Vahid Yamini Pour, called for the trial and execution of the candidates who protested the 2009 elections and told Ezzatollah Zarghami: "Nothing will change if the death penalty is issued for them, but you are against execution," while the former head of state television said: "In the current situation, instead of holding trials, the main concern of the people is economic and livelihood issues." The newspaper Arman reported on its front page with the title "The Case of Rape of Disabled Girls on the Judge's Desk" that "the management and staff of the care center where it is claimed that disabled girls were raped have changed and been relocated, and the Welfare Organization has also stated that if this incident is proven, it will be pursued through judicial authorities." According to this newspaper, "A shocking report was published in the media last Saturday in which a social worker claimed that disabled girls were raped in a care center under the supervision of the Welfare Organization" and "after verifying this issue for the center's manager, no action was taken to defend this girl, and even it is planned for her to be transferred to another center to resolve the matter." However, in addition to the last victim, "two other girls had previously fallen prey to the lust of this individual, and after the center manager became aware of the matter, they were transferred to other centers, and this maintenance worker was employed under a volume or contractual agreement for this center, and after the issue of his assault on one of the clients became clear, with the timely intervention and serious action of the Welfare Organization's inspection, he was dismissed, but due to the center manager's claim that he had no other maintenance staff available, he was called back to work." The Arman newspaper also reported that "the assailant himself is the father of a mentally disabled child. According to the law, this girl must be referred to forensic medicine to undergo judicial procedures and punish this man, which the center manager is refusing to do" and "the center manager, who has recently been promoted, wants to resolve the issue quietly to avoid disrepute for his center, has sent the girl for examination to one of the specialists in women's diseases instead of forensic medicine, but this specialist has also stated that to prove the assault, this girl must go to forensic medicine, a matter that the center manager is still reluctant to implement; even to cover up the issue, he has asked the center's psychologist to issue a certificate stating that this girl, due to her mental disability, had delusions and her statements are not real; a suggestion that the center's psychologist has refused to carry out." Hossein Nahvian Nejad, the deputy of rehabilitation affairs at the Welfare Organization, however, told the newspaper Shargh: "I deny the existence of organized abuse in welfare centers; however, I believe it cannot be said that this issue does not exist in such centers in general and will not exist." This official of the Welfare Organization did not disclose the name of this care center but said: "We realized that the discussion is about one of the centers that is run by the government, although with a board of trustees, in this center, someone had claimed a long time ago that one of the staff had a sexual relationship with one of the disabled individuals, for which the Tehran county welfare and security entered the matter, but this issue was not proven, the individual was referred to forensic medicine, and nothing was clarified; however, since rumors had been raised about this, managerial changes were made there, but since no crime was proven, this was not reported to higher authorities, and they felt the issue was resolved in Tehran county." Hossein Nahvian Nejad, referring to the news agency Mehr, which first published the news of rape in a care center for the disabled, told Shargh: "First, this news agency had a specific case in hand and generalized it completely to all welfare centers of the organization; second, there has been a conflation between orphanages and centers for the care of disabled individuals, and when you read the report, you feel it is talking about centers for children and girls. However, when you read the complete article, you realize it is discussing mentally disabled individuals. Another point is that it seems the report is causing public anxiety, as it discusses an unproven report, and if it is proven, should we question the efforts of charitable individuals?" The deputy of the Welfare Organization said: "14,000 of the individuals we care for are kept with judicial orders, meaning they either have no effective guardian or are unidentified and have been wandering in the streets; if a proven or unproven incident occurred in a center, is it right to attribute it to all centers?"