Ejei: Hashemi's Pressure on the Judiciary is Extraordinary

The First Deputy of Iran's Judiciary accused Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani of exerting "extraordinary pressure" on the judiciary regarding the cases of his children. He stated that Mehdi Hashemi "always had a copy of the judiciary and the General Inspection Organization's documents" related to his case. According to Tasnim News Agency, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said on Tuesday, December 30, at a conference at Tehran University: "Do we have anyone above Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani in terms of position? Do you think there is no pressure on the judiciary in cases like theirs? There is indeed extraordinary pressure." He added: "Despite the immense pressure exerted on the judiciary regarding Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani's son, the trial process was conducted legally, and he is currently in prison." Ejei referred to Mehdi Hashemi's case, stating: "Whatever existed in any organization was provided to them. For example, they always had a copy of the judiciary and the General Inspection Organization's documents in their hands." He emphasized that "dealing with these cases is difficult and they may have access to many documents through various individuals." The cases of Fa'ezeh, Fatemeh, and especially Mehdi Hashemi, the children of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, have repeatedly caused controversy in Iranian media. This is not the first time Ejei has accused Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani of pressuring the judiciary. On July 6, he implicitly referred to Mehdi Hashemi's case, stating that a "powerful individual" threatens the judiciary. The day after that, in an interview with the second channel of Iran's state television, he announced that "we were indeed under pressure from various aspects in Mehdi Hashemi's case." However, shortly after, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani stated that he told the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic that he was not satisfied with Mehdi's pardon because "they say, why does the leader not pay attention to the requests for pardoning other prisoners, and they also say Hashemi influenced the case of their son." While some members of the Iranian parliament and some conservative media have accused Mehdi Hashemi of involvement in economic corruption in the Statoil and Kowsar contracts, Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai, the lawyer for Mehdi Hashemi and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's children, has repeatedly emphasized that the "main issue" of this case is Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani himself, not Mehdi Hashemi. Meanwhile, Fa'ezeh Hashemi previously stated that her brother's prison sentence was aimed at "reducing" Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's presence and influence in the Assembly of Experts and the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections. Ejei's remarks were published hours after Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani registered for the fifth term of the Assembly of Experts elections at the Ministry of Interior. The day before Ejei's comments, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani stated that his son, Mehdi, intended to go on a "dry hunger strike" in protest against the "non-broadcasting" of his trial, but he prevented him from doing so. Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani introduced himself to serve his prison sentence at Evin Prison on Sunday, August 9. He had previously repeatedly requested the "complete and unedited" broadcasting of all his trial sessions by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. In another part of his speech, Ejei asked university officials not to allow "seditionists" to be present in universities and that if someone from these individuals was to give a speech, they should ensure beforehand that they would not say anything contrary to the values of the regime. He added: "If it is predicted that the presence of a certain person in universities will cause tension, the military, intelligence, and judicial authorities should prevent these individuals from entering universities." Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic and his close associates refer to the protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election as "sedition" and refer to Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi as the "leaders of sedition." Ejei had previously recommended that speeches that might provoke reactions from certain groups and "disturb the atmosphere" should not be held at all. Meanwhile, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, Iran's Minister of Interior, emphasized securing legal gatherings and reported on the incident of the attack on Abdulvahed Mousavi Lari's speech in Qarchak, stating that the case of the "organizers and planners" of this incident, who "insist on their actions," will be referred to the judiciary. In recent weeks, several speeches by reformists, including those of Mohammad Ali Najafi and Mohsen Mehralizadeh at Allameh Tabatabai University, Azar Mansouri and Jahanbakhsh Khangahani at Shahid Chamran University in Ahvaz, and Azar Mansouri at Yasouj Azad University, have been attacked. Ejei also stated that "seditionists will not be pardoned as long as they do not repent and do not make amends and remain on their wrong stance." In response to a question about the reason for the lack of prosecution of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the leaders of the protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election, he emphasized that "the Supreme National Security Council decided that they should not be prosecuted for now, and the resolutions of the Supreme National Security Council are like law." Ejei added: "They deliberately created chaos, and their charges can truly be termed as rebellion." Sadegh Amoli Larijani, the head of the judiciary, has also previously deemed the house arrest of Mousavi and Karroubi as "legal" based on the "resolution of the Supreme National Security Council" in this regard. In response to this argument, Ali Motahari, a representative from Tehran in parliament, has deemed the house arrest of these three individuals as a "violation of multiple principles of the Islamic Republic's Constitution." The Human Rights Defenders Center, chaired by Shirin Ebadi, has also previously stated in a statement that the leader and the Supreme National Security Council do not have the legal authority to issue a ruling for the "house arrest" of individuals. Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard, Mousavi's wife, have been under house arrest without a court ruling since the end of 2009.