Ejei: The Accusation Against Detained Telegram Managers is Publishing Anti-Security Content

In a statement completely contrary to the claims of Hassan Rouhani, the Deputy Chief of the Iranian Judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, said on Wednesday, April 23, that the accusation against the detained managers of Telegram channels is the publication of "anti-security" content. On the other hand, a former Minister of Intelligence also called for the broadcasting of their confessions. According to a report on Wednesday from the IRIB news agency, Mohseni Ejei also stated that these individuals are accused of publishing "obscene materials and violating public decency." He added, "These accusations are based on an official report, and the prosecutor acted according to legal standards to arrest these individuals." Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, stated in a press conference last Monday that according to a report from the Ministry of Intelligence, the managers of the Telegram channels recently detained had "committed no crime." However, according to the senior judicial official, these individuals remain in custody, and "the President, who has legal knowledge, knows that the competent authority to determine whether someone has committed a crime is not the Minister of Intelligence." Rouhani also added, "If the initial report given to me by the Minister of Intelligence is correct, which I hope it is not, I will certainly inform the people." In Esfand of last year, managers of several Telegram channels and a number of journalists, including Hengameh Shahidi, Morad Taghavi, Ehsan Mazandarani, and Ramin Karimi, a researcher and translator, were arrested. Efforts for their release have so far been fruitless. In this context, the President of Iran on Saturday, April 6, asked the Minister of Interior to prepare a report regarding the "suspicious" detention of several media activists on the eve of the elections and to prevent the "illegal" interference of certain institutions in the elections. Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence of Iran, also announced that the government opposes the detention of the Telegram channel managers. However, Heydar Moslehi, in opposition to his successor's statements in the Ministry of Intelligence, stated that the detained channel managers had "shocking confessions." According to the local website "Asr Hamoon," Moslehi added that these confessions show "which groups were directing the detained individuals to carry out actions in line with the enemy's goals." The former Minister of Intelligence expressed hope that "intelligence and security agencies would publish part of their confessions so that the people would be informed." The Iranian judiciary has had serious disagreements with Rouhani's government and some members of parliament over various legal cases and other economic and political issues for years; these disagreements remain unresolved. On the other hand, Mahmoud Sadeghi, a member of parliament, is among those who have raised issues regarding the internal relations of the judiciary in recent months, which have caused significant controversies. The topic of the judiciary's bank accounts and the related profits, as well as the recent discussion about bonuses paid to judiciary employees, are among these issues. Sadeghi stated on April 21 that the judiciary has paid more than "285 billion tomans" in salaries and bonuses to its employees beyond the legal resolution. He added that a recent report from the Court of Audit indicates "widespread violations," particularly "in institutions claiming to combat astronomical salaries," which amounted to "ten times the violations of astronomical salaries." The Court of Audit is a supervisory body affiliated with the parliament that oversees the budget consumption in government agencies. The head and prosecutor of the Court of Audit are elected by the votes of parliament members. Previously, Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, had stated that the issue of "astronomical salaries" was not limited to the government and that high salaries were also paid to managers in some institutions under the supervision of the Supreme Leader. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, in response to Sadeghi's statements on Wednesday, said, "Sometimes one does not know whether to laugh or cry at such things heard from individuals, as not every word from everyone is worthy." The spokesman for the judiciary added that "the payment of this amount under the title of bonuses is absolutely incorrect and a complete lie." This judicial official explained that the judiciary has, since 2013, based on paragraph 10 of Article 68 of the law, added amounts to the salaries of its employees that "do not have the title of bonuses and this has not been exclusive to the judiciary." Mohseni Ejei added that the additional salaries of judiciary employees are negligible compared to "the astronomical payslips where an individual received 57 million tomans in bonuses and salaries in one month and was called the system's capital." In this context, Hassan Rouhani criticized the "destruction and slander" against his government on the eve of the elections, Ali Motahari called for an explanation from the Ministry of Intelligence regarding the detention of Hengameh Shahidi, and Rouhani refrained from providing a clear answer regarding his candidacy in the elections. The statements of the member of parliament regarding "widespread" financial violations in the judiciary highlight ongoing tensions and issues within the Iranian political landscape.