Criticism from Judiciary Chief over 'Photo Taking' with a Former Security Prisoner

Following a meeting between several figures and officials of the Islamic Republic with Mostafa Tajzadeh, Gholamhossein Esmaeili, the Chief Justice of Tehran Province, criticized that 'it is not right for politicians to take commemorative photos with a security prisoner who has spoken ill of the regime and questioned everything about it.' According to a report on Wednesday, June 9, by Tasnim News Agency, Mr. Esmaeili explained: 'The fact that someone who has questioned everything about the regime, has been convicted and has completed his sentence, now politicians go and take commemorative photos with him, this means mocking the regime, government, and authority.' Although the Chief Justice of Tehran Province did not name a specific individual in his statements, domestic media have reported that he was referring to Mostafa Tajzadeh. Mr. Tajzadeh, who served as the Deputy Minister of Interior for Political Affairs and an advisor to the President during Mohammad Khatami's presidency, was released from prison on Friday, June 3, after seven years. He was one of the reformist figures who was arrested and imprisoned immediately after the controversial presidential elections in Iran in 2009. After Mostafa Tajzadeh's release, a large number of his friends and like-minded individuals visited him, including Hossein Fereydoun, the brother and special assistant of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who visited Mr. Tajzadeh's home to talk with him. In this context, the Kayhan newspaper, which is run under the supervision of Hossein Shariatmadari, the representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, severely criticized these meetings in its issue on Monday, June 7, describing them as 'marginal' to 'forget the promises' of Mr. Rouhani's government. The Javan newspaper, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also criticized the meetings with Mostafa Tajzadeh in its June 9 issue, stating that reformists 'pretend to be the opposition while defining themselves within the establishment.' Previously, a meeting between Faezah Hashemi and Fariba Kamalabadi, a leader of the Baha'i community in Iran, had also provoked anger and outrage among conservatives and some senior officials of the Islamic Republic.