Criminal Charges Against Hossein Pakdel for Comparing Soleimani and Raisi to Cutlet and Steak

The Tehran prosecutor's office has filed a legal case against Hossein Pakdel, a television presenter and actor, for 'publishing content aimed at disrupting the psychological security of society and insulting and slandering.' While the official news agency of the judiciary, 'Mizan', reported on Wednesday, June 6, about the charges against a 'television actor and presenter', the Tasnim news agency, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported on Thursday, June 7, that the individual in question is Hossein Pakdel, a veteran presenter of the Islamic Republic's broadcasting service. According to Tasnim's report, the charges against Pakdel stem from his comments in an Instagram story about Ibrahim Raisi and Qassem Soleimani. This news agency, close to the IRGC, stated that Pakdel had 'mocked and ridiculed' these two deceased officials of the Islamic Republic. The charges against Pakdel came after he wrote in an Instagram story: 'The kitchen of politics turns cooked men into rubber steak and from inept men into the regime's special cutlet.' According to the IRGC-affiliated media, these phrases were mocking Qassem Soleimani and Ibrahim Raisi. The term 'cutlet' is one that opponents of the Islamic Republic attribute to Soleimani due to the manner of his death, using phrases like 'Qassem Cutlet' to refer to the former commander of the IRGC. Additionally, after the death of Ibrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, the hashtag 'HeliCutlet' became widespread on social media. In recent days, Islamic Republic officials have arrested several citizens for expressing joy over Raisi's death and for posting related content on social media, or they have threatened them to delete the published materials from their social media pages. Furthermore, the Press Supervisory Board of the Islamic Republic has issued a directive stating that publishing content described by this governmental body as encouraging 'boycotting or reducing participation in the 14th presidential election, unauthorized protests, as well as strikes and sit-ins, constitutes criminal content.' Pressure on actors and cultural figures has increased significantly following some of their support for the popular protests of 2021. Notably, Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, after receiving a special jury prize at Cannes, emphasized that the people of Iran are being held hostage by the Islamic Republic. Dozens of activists supporting Narges Mohammadi have stated that the Islamic Republic uses sexual violence as a tool of repression. Some members of the U.S. Congress have called for sanctions against the judges in the case of Tomaj Salehi. Milad Jalili, a protesting rapper, has been arrested and transferred to Tabriz prison. The family of Hossein Shandizadeh is concerned about the attribution of 'heavy charges'; Hossein Ronaghi stated that this 'point' will remain a headline forever. There has been an increase in cases of 'medicalization' of political prisoners; Bahar Khaniabpour stated that she has also developed an autoimmune disease.