Former MP Reports Definitive Sentences Issued Against Ahmadinejad

Fazel Mousavi, a member of the 8th Parliament's Article 90 Commission, announced the issuance of "seven definitive judicial rulings" regarding what he called "an 11 trillion tomans violation by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad." According to a report by Khabar Online on Saturday (December 4), Mousavi expressed this in a note provided to the website, stating that "reliable" sources had given him this information. He referred to the sit-in by Ahmadinejad's associates near Shah Abdol Azim as "diversion and a forward escape" aimed at "clearing themselves of these accusations." Mousavi added that "Ahmadinejad should first think about his debts before seeking justice." This former MP accused Ahmadinejad and his "circle of friends" of "not recognizing the judicial system" of the Islamic Republic, stating, "The judicial system has legally summoned him and his associates, and they must go and be accountable to the judicial system." However, he criticized that Ahmadinejad was not stopped when the 11 trillion tomans violation occurred, adding that "not now when he has nothing left and cannot return this money to the public treasury." On August 7 of this year, the head of Iran's Court of Audit also stated that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has seven definitive and enforceable rulings in this court. Fayyaz Shajai, in an interview with the newspaper Etemad, described the content of five of these cases as related to oil and refrained from disclosing the details of two other cases. Shajai added that "the volume of these violations is very large. Ahmadinejad will never acquire as much as 7 trillion tomans that we could seize and return to the treasury. Therefore, it may not be possible to enforce the ruling. In any case, some issues do not have the grounds for execution." According to him, the cases include the sale of oil by the police, the case of purchasing gasoline in exchange for selling crude oil, the Babak Zanjani case, the case of transferring 16 billion tomans to the Iranian University, and a 15 billion tomans case involving the Red Crescent Organization, among others that Ahmadinejad and his government have in this court. Following the summons of Hamid Baghaei, Ahmadinejad's executive assistant, on financial misconduct charges, the former president has severely criticized the judiciary. Recently, statements from Ahmadinejad published on the website of the Government of Spring indicated that he criticized what he termed the "dictatorship" of the judiciary and indirectly pointed out issues concerning Sadeq Larijani, the head of the judiciary, and his brothers and family members. He stated, "If {Baghaei's statements} are a crime, then I say the same. People, I swear, my children are not spies, my brothers are not brokers, they are not land grabbers, they are not exclusive drug importers, and I have not seized land around Qom to build a dairy farm. My money does not come from nowhere, I do not have foreign citizenship, nor do my children or brothers." Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in his continued dialogue published last Thursday, deemed Baghaei's detention of over seven months as "illegal" and called the charges against him fabricated. He stated that the judiciary in this case is "both the complainant, the judge, and the informed party." Hamid Baghaei was arrested in 2015 due to financial allegations, and after that, individuals close to Ahmadinejad reported that he was released on the orders of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. Baghaei was also arrested in July this year and released on a 20 billion tomans bail. "The request for a total bonus of 300 million tomans for 16 members of the government," "assistance to the Iranian International University," "assistance to the Iranian House Organization," "assistance to the state newspaper Iran," and "collusion in the conclusion of contracts and transactions of five companies" are among the charges against Mr. Baghaei.