Ejei's Response to Rouhani's Remarks; "No Media Has Safe Haven"

On a day when the President of Iran criticized the existence of a "permanent safe haven" for some media outlets, the spokesperson for the Iranian judiciary stated that from the judiciary's perspective, "no media has a safe haven," and that the judiciary will address any complaints made against any media outlet. Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, on Sunday, November 8, during his attendance at a press exhibition, expressed his stance regarding recent actions against media and journalists, criticizing that "some media are forever immune from punishment, suspension, closure, and threats, and a permanent security margin has been designated for them to say whatever they want." He even likened the performance of such media to that of a "secret police," stating that by studying them, one can sometimes understand who will be arrested tomorrow and whose reputation will be tarnished. Hours later, however, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the first deputy and spokesperson of the judiciary, responded to Rouhani's criticism in his weekly press conference, stating that from the judiciary's perspective, "a safe haven in the sense that if someone complains, we say it should not be addressed" does not exist for any media, and "any complaint from any media will be dealt with by the judiciary." The spokesperson added that "in every case related to the public prosecutor, actions have been taken. We have witnessed this across various spectrums, and cases have been formed regarding all tastes." Ejei also mentioned that in cases where "the complainant is private" and does not file a complaint, "the complaint is not the duty of the public prosecutor" and added that this is not considered a safe haven, and if a complaint is made, it will certainly be addressed. He also stated without naming anyone specifically that "individuals who have acted against national security based on reports from the country's intelligence system have been identified and arrested, and their cases are in the preliminary stage"; he explained that he is unable to provide further details on this matter. Denial of the arrest of some "immoral mobile network leaders" However, another part of the spokesperson's remarks was a reaction to reports from two news agencies close to security sources regarding the arrest of leaders of "immoral mobile networks" in Qazvin. The Fars and Tasnim news agencies reported on Saturday, November 6, citing "a security official in the Sepah of the Lord of the Age" in Qazvin, that "managers of over 170 active groups in mobile social networks" had been identified and several of them arrested. Fars reported that the identified individuals were active in the area of "anti-moral security" and some of them were "handed over to the relevant authorities for judicial proceedings." However, the spokesperson for the judiciary denied this news on Sunday. According to Tasnim news agency, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei rejected the validity of this news, stating that they inquired from the Qazvin prosecutor's office about it, and "there is absolutely no such news." He added that the Qazvin prosecutor's office announced that "the person who published this news has been summoned and asked to explain on what basis this news was published."