Ejei: A Powerful Individual is Threatening the Judiciary

The first deputy of Iran's judiciary stated: In the years 2013 and 2014, addressing the big fish and dealing impartially with the powerful was one of our concerns in the judiciary. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, on July 5, in a speech before the Friday prayers in Tehran, indirectly referred to the case of Mehdi Hashemi, son of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of the Expediency Discernment Council, and said: "You should know that some of these cases we have had in recent years, related to the powerful and wealthy, put extraordinary pressure on us, threaten us, and directly and indirectly try to undermine the judiciary, but we will fulfill our legal duties... Unfortunately, an individual who holds power and position tells us that I should determine the judge and I should decide who the judge should be; if this is the case, then what happens to the independence of the judiciary?" Mehdi Hashemi, son of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, was ultimately sentenced to 10 years in prison after several trial sessions, and his sentence was sent for execution to the execution department of the prosecutor's office. Mohseni Ejei, the deputy and spokesperson of the judiciary, had said about the details of Mehdi Hashemi's sentence: "Three crimes of embezzlement, bribery, and security issues were confirmed for Mehdi Hashemi, but there were 12 indictments in the case, some of which were merged in the review and presentation of the indictment, and in some cases, Mehdi Hashemi was acquitted of the crime." Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has not reacted to this sentence, but before the issuance of the sentence, he had said in an interview with the Shargh newspaper: "I do not want to interfere in the judiciary's work. I have told the leadership and the head of the judiciary from the beginning. I do not know the judge and have never seen him. I told them that if Mehdi has committed a crime, my preference is that he sees his punishment in this world and does not fall into the afterlife because the afterlife is very hard, and if he has not committed a crime, it is not worthy of the Islamic Republic to accuse or convict someone who has not committed a crime due to political issues." However, a few days ago, Efat Marashi, the wife of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, described her son's sentence as "fatherless play" in an interview with the Tasnim news agency. Sadegh Amoli Larijani, the head of Iran's judiciary, reacted sharply after Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said, "I do not intend to interfere in the judiciary's work," and said: Some say, "We do not want to interfere in judicial matters," but with their words, they somehow interfere, especially implying that the accused may be acquitted, but they are ordered to be convicted; this statement is false and its dissemination is actionable. The head of the judiciary in Iran also recently had an indirect reaction to Mehdi Hashemi's conviction and said: "It is surprising how individuals who have no knowledge of a multi-thousand-page case can easily question the handling and results of the case and criticize it." In a recent meeting between Ayatollah Khamenei and senior officials of the country, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was not present, and some conservative websites considered this move meaningful and deliberate, and unjustified.