Court of Audit: Ahmadinejad Should Not Incite Excitement

The Court of Audit of the country issued a statement requesting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former President of Iran, to refrain from making 'political' remarks and 'inciting excitement' regarding the cases of officials from the ninth and tenth governments. This statement was issued in response to Ahmadinejad's comments in an interview with the 'Dolat Bahar' website, criticizing some actions of the Court of Audit. The Court urged the former president to pursue these matters legally instead of creating 'unreal mental connections' regarding the cases of the previous government. The verbal dispute between Ahmadinejad and the Court of Audit has intensified since the prosecutor of this court announced new dimensions of Ahmadinejad's 'violations'. Fayyaz Shajai, the prosecutor of the Court of Audit, announced on August 8 that Ahmadinejad has seven definitive and enforceable rulings against him, five of which are related to oil. Shajai identified cases including the sale of oil by the police, the purchase of gasoline in exchange for crude oil sales, the Babak Zanjani case, a payment of 16 billion tomans to the Iranian University, and a 15 billion corruption case involving the Red Crescent Organization as among the cases against Ahmadinejad and his government in the Court of Audit. Ahmadinejad reacted to these accusations by issuing a statement indicating that he has decided to break his silence and will soon publish more information about what he calls a 'malicious conspiracy'. He described the statements of the prosecutor of the Court of Audit as criminal acts of 'spreading falsehoods with the intent to disturb public opinion, contrary to the constitution, and subject to judicial prosecution'. The Dolat Bahar website also reacted to the prosecutor's statements, announcing that 'the ruling of the Court of Audit regarding the condemnation of Dr. Ahmadinejad for providing subsidies to the people from the resources of gas condensates, oil, and taxes has been overturned in the appeal stage and is not related to Dr. Ahmadinejad'. Meanwhile, the arrest and release of Hamid Bakai in early August this year has once again led to heightened verbal tensions between Ahmadinejad and some judicial and supervisory bodies in Iran. Ahmadinejad issued a letter stating that the 'unjust scenario' of Bakai's arrest was carried out by 'power and wealth gangs' and that he will fully expose this 'conspiracy' in the near future. In his letter, without naming the 'power and wealth gangs', he wrote that they are 'seeking to execute an unjust scenario against some of his government managers by exploiting the situation'. He introduced Bakai's arrest by the judiciary as 'the first act of this scenario' and described the 'illegal statements of the president of the Court of Audit and his entirely false accusations' as 'the second act of this scenario'. The former president also referred to the prosecutor's statements and the documents of the Court of Audit regarding the 'violations' of Ahmadinejad's government managers as 'lies' and stated that 'this statement by the prosecutor is a big lie and a great act of cowardice. I believe this is part of a new design against the previous government; they have sat down and designed it, thinking they can destroy it'. The Court of Audit also reacted to these statements in its announcement on Sunday, August 20, defending the structure and performance of the court and stating that 'the conviction of an official in the Court of Audit does not necessarily mean the realization of criminal behavior such as embezzlement and bribery'. The Court indirectly addressed Ahmadinejad, stating that 'it is fair that the performance of the components of the Court should not be the subject of analyses and political programs of individuals and parties'. The Court also noted that in 'the process of proceedings at various stages of this court, there has been no logical and substantial basis for orchestrating and coordinating the defamation of an individual or individuals'.