Arrest Warrants Issued for Two Governors and Summons for Five Others Due to Electoral Crimes

On Tuesday, July 18, the Tehran Prosecutor General announced the issuance of arrest warrants for two governors and the indictment of one governor, along with the summons of five other governors due to electoral crimes. Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi stated that seven governors were summoned, and after receiving their final defenses, arrest warrants were issued for two of them. Five other governors have also been summoned, along with six governors, one of whom has been indicted. He reported that there are 180 open cases related to the May 29 elections, which were opened either by the Election Supervisory Board or through complaints received from election headquarters. Half of the complaints came from government agencies and half from the headquarters. The Tehran Prosecutor's remarks come after ILNA reported on July 9 that four governors from the eleventh government were summoned to the Government Employees Court and charged with 'electoral violations' during the twelfth presidential and council elections. According to ILNA, Asadollah Darvish Amiri, the governor of Zanjan; Fereydoun Hemmati, the governor of Qazvin; Mohammad Nasir Nikbakht, the governor of Hamadan; and Gholamreza Shariati, the governor of Khuzestan, were summoned for 'electoral violations' in the presidential and city and village council elections in May. Some of these governors have been granted 'bail'. Earlier, Majid Ansari, the legal deputy of the Iranian president, stated that 'a limited number of governors, mayors, and district governors have been summoned to the judiciary regarding electoral issues, defended themselves, and some cases were dismissed while others are still under review.' He also announced that Hassan Rouhani's government has filed complaints against some military, police, Friday prayer leaders, and media personnel for violations during the presidential elections, adding, 'We seek equal and fair treatment from the judiciary in this regard.' Previously, Abbasali Kadkhodai, the spokesman for the Guardian Council, stated in early June that the election headquarters of two presidential candidates had sent numerous reports of electoral violations to the council. Ebrahim Raisi, the main conservative candidate in the presidential election, has repeatedly accused Hassan Rouhani's government of committing 'engineered violations' in the elections. Furthermore, Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, mentioned on July 3 in a television program that a significant number of electoral cases have been formed, involving violations from a considerable number of village heads to governors. However, despite the numerous complaints from presidential candidates regarding the election process, the Guardian Council announced that these complaints did not change the results and confirmed them. Hassan Rouhani received 23.5 million votes in the twelfth presidential election, while Ebrahim Raisi garnered over 15 million votes. In another part of his speech, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi emphasized that the judiciary does not grant immunity to economic offenders linked to political currents in the fight against corruption, stating, 'It does not matter to us which area the corruption occurs in, by whom, or by associates of the current, previous, or former governments.' He noted that some individuals who claim to be clean and advocate against corruption actually support corrupt individuals. Without naming these individuals, the Tehran Prosecutor pointed to recent events and the arrests of some individuals related to corruption as evidence that it does not matter to the prosecutor's office which political current the corruption suspects belong to. Recently, Hamidreza Baghaei, an assistant to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Hossein Fereydoun, assistant and brother of Hassan Rouhani, were arrested. Reports indicate that Hamidreza Baghaei is in prison, while Hossein Fereydoun, who was arrested on Saturday, July 16, was released on Tuesday after being transferred to the hospital and posting bail. The Tehran Prosecutor addressed the 'attacks on the judiciary during the investigation of corruption cases,' stating, 'When major corruption suspects are pursued, the first claim is that the actions of the prosecutor's office and judicial authorities are political.' He also referred to a letter written last week by 'a person who had responsibilities in the past,' which contained insulting and false statements against the judiciary and the case investigator. The Tehran Prosecutor described the contents of this letter as 'criminal' and stated that 'the right to legal action by the Tehran prosecutor's office is reserved.' Previously, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former president of Iran, criticized the arrest of his executive assistant, Hamidreza Baghaei, and his hunger strike, stating that he 'remains in harsh solitary confinement without communication facilities due to his inability to pay a bail of 50 billion tomans, while according to the law, he should have access to television, media, and communication facilities.' He added that his previous letter to the head of the judiciary for Baghaei's release went unanswered, holding the judicial authorities responsible for any harm to his health. In response, the Tehran Prosecutor stated that he had issued instructions to investigate how the suspect is being held in prison and to ensure his legal rights are respected, adding that 'the claims made by the letter's author, as quoted from the suspect, were such that it seemed this suspect was being held in Harun al-Rashid's prison or Guantanamo.' Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi also stated that the suspect is receiving 24-hour medical care and a special diet.