Conflicting Reports on Arrest Warrant for Mahmoud Sadqi, Tehran Representative

Mahmoud Sadqi, a member of the parliament from Tehran, announced on his Twitter page on Tuesday, December 8, that "with the follow-up of relevant officials, his illegal arrest has been canceled." Mr. Sadqi, who has faced issues due to his comments regarding personal accounts in the judiciary, also wrote that the matter of dealing with him would be "pursued according to the law, with notification to the parliament, based on the opinion of the Supervisory Board on the Conduct of Representatives." However, the Fars news agency quoted an "informed source" stating that "the arrest warrant for Mahmoud Sadqi on charges of spreading falsehoods and disturbing public opinion, which was issued due to his non-compliance with multiple summons, remains in effect." This "informed source," whose name was not mentioned by Fars, said: "The judiciary is the authority for individuals to seek redress according to the constitution, and a member of parliament must respond to accusations if they commit a crime, make accusations, spread false information about individuals, and violate their rights." Mahmoud Sadqi, a member of the Hope faction in parliament, reported on Sunday, December 7, that agents had come to arrest him "in violation of the law governing the oversight of parliament members" when he was returning home. According to Mr. Sadqi, he "managed to resist" and reach inside his house, but agents were waiting outside. Meanwhile, following the news of the agents' attempt to arrest Mahmoud Sadqi, a number of political and student activists, as well as supporters of this parliament member, gathered in front of his house to prevent his arrest. According to some news agencies, the protesters left the area after the announcement that the agents had canceled the arrest of this member of the Hope faction's leadership. According to ILNA news agency, Mohammad Javad Fathi, a parliament member from Tehran, stated early Tuesday that the process of arresting Mahmoud Sadqi was halted due to the follow-up by Ali Larijani, the Speaker of Parliament. In recent days, Mr. Sadqi had mentioned the issue of personal accounts in the judiciary during his speeches in parliament. After Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani, the head of the judiciary, objected to this topic being raised in parliament, Mr. Sadqi wrote a letter asking questions about the accounts of the head of the judiciary. In response, the head of the judiciary described his behavior as "audacious," accusing him from the podium of parliament of depositing 1,000 billion tomans into his personal account. Meanwhile, the Tehran prosecutor's office sent a summons to Mahmoud Sadqi through the leadership of parliament; a summons that he stated was related to the case of Yashar Soltani, the imprisoned editor of the Architecture News website. Mr. Soltani was arrested following the publication of documents regarding the transfer of municipal properties in Tehran to several members of the city council and others at low prices. Nevertheless, Fars news agency reported early Tuesday that "the issued arrest warrant for Mr. Sadqi is due to private complaints, including from several students who have been complaining against him for months for spreading falsehoods." Responses to the arrest warrant for Mahmoud Sadqi have particularly provoked reactions from parliament members. Hamid Abutalebi, the political deputy of the Iranian President's office, emphasized on Tuesday, December 8, the importance of "maintaining the credibility of the constitution and safeguarding the national dignity and global reputation" of Iran, stating: "The freedom of representatives to perform their duties is a legacy from the Constitutional Revolution era." According to the state news agency IRNA, Mr. Abutalebi pointed out that according to Article 97 of the Iranian constitution, "representatives are completely free in expressing their opinions and votes while performing their representative duties and cannot be prosecuted or detained." Meanwhile, Bahram Parsai, the spokesperson for the Hope faction in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stated on Tuesday that an extraordinary meeting of the leadership of this faction to investigate the reason for the agents' presence to arrest Mahmoud Sadqi, one of its members, will be held on Wednesday, December 9. According to ISNA news agency, Mr. Parsai added that the Hope faction "will defend the position and dignity of the representatives." This parliament member also told ILNA news agency that "according to the constitution, representatives are free to express their views and are responsible to the people to comment and position themselves on domestic and foreign issues, and if someone commits an error, it should be addressed as explicitly emphasized in the law." Bahram Parsai emphasized that "complaints against representatives should be pursued through the Supervisory Board on the Conduct of Representatives" and added: "Upon reviewing the matter, it should be determined whether the action or statement made was in line with the duties of representation or not." The spokesperson for the Article 90 Commission also announced the possibility of the commission's involvement in the nighttime arrest of Mahmoud Sadqi, stating: "Certainly, if Mr. Sadqi files a complaint, the commission will seriously pursue the matter." Previously, Masoud Pezeshkian, the deputy speaker of parliament, had stated that the manner of summoning Mahmoud Sadqi would be pursued through this body. Furthermore, according to ILNA news agency, Mohammad Reza Aref, the head of the Hope faction in parliament, emphasized early Tuesday in a message the "necessity of avoiding any provocative and costly actions for the system" and stated: "The issue that arose for Mahmoud Sadqi should be examined by the Supervisory Board on the Conduct of Representatives, and subsequent actions should be taken based on the board's assessment." On the other hand, Kayhan newspaper described Mahmoud Sadqi as a "newly emerged and fame-seeking representative" who has created a stir against the judiciary in the midst of inefficiencies and mismanagement or corruption of some government officials. Additionally, Mizan news agency, affiliated with the judiciary, reported on Tuesday, quoting an "informed source," that Mahmoud Sadqi is accused of "collaborating with certain elements and known media to propagate against the judiciary." Previously, Gholamali Haddad Adel, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, had written on his Twitter page that "we should not accuse the head of the judiciary of theft regarding an account that has legally existed for over 20 years, and we should not all remain silent in the face of it."