Former Supreme Court Judge: Statements by Mazandaran Police Chief are 'Absolute Crime'

Following increased reactions to the remarks made by the police chief of Mazandaran province, who called for 'breaking the necks' of what he termed 'criminals', a former judge of the Supreme Court has deemed these statements as 'absolute crime', while the first deputy of the judiciary has stated that 'his language was inappropriate'. Mohammad Darvishzadeh, a former judge of the Supreme Court, wrote in today's edition of the Tehran newspaper 'Ettelaat' on Sunday, June 18, that the necessity of dealing with 'violent crimes' and the need for a 'powerful and lawful police' is not hidden from anyone, but 'a bullying and law-violating police' has 'no place in our culture and society.' The head of the 'Iranian Institute of Law and Law' further criticized the remarks of the senior police commander of Mazandaran province, stating that such behavior could constitute the crime of 'creating a climate of distrust among the people towards the armed forces.' Hassan Mofakhami, the police chief of Mazandaran, had told his forces in a video released on June 15 that: 'In this province, in our counties, if anyone wants to commit a disorder, break their necks according to the law, the answer is with me.' Hours later, following widespread critical reactions, the 'Tasnim' news agency, close to the Iranian security institutions, released a longer video of this regional police commander's remarks, claiming that his words had been 'edited', although in the new video, this police official still made the same previous statements. On the other hand, Rahmatollah Bigdeli, a faculty member at Zanjan Azad University, questioned the statement 'how did we get to breaking necks?', recalling that Raisi, the head of the judiciary, had said on October 1, 2019: 'We will cut the hands of corrupt individuals not from the wrist, but from the elbow.' He noted at that time: 'We do not have a punishment for cutting hands from the wrist and elbow, and the head of the judiciary should speak accurately!' When a judge talks about cutting hands from the wrist and elbow, the enforcer will also break necks! Mohammad Mosaddegh, the first deputy of the judiciary, also reacted to this issue, stating that the remarks of the Mazandaran police chief regarding 'malicious individuals' and those who 'disturb security' and commit armed robberies were made, but this language was 'not appropriate and befitting of a commander.' Nevertheless, Mohammad Darvishzadeh, the former Supreme Court judge and head of the Iranian Institute of Law and Law, emphasizes the criminality of this action, stating that from a technical perspective, the type of crime committed by the Mazandaran police chief is among 'absolute crimes', meaning that the realization of this crime 'is not conditional on achieving a result.' The threatening remarks of the new police chief of Mazandaran against citizens faced widespread criticism from social media users, who deemed it a threat of 'murder'. Hassan Mofakhami has previously held positions such as the head of the country's moral security police, police chief of Markazi province, deputy police chief of Mazandaran, and head of the inspection of the police command in Golestan province. Despite the intensified violent crackdowns by the Iranian government against opponents of mandatory hijab in recent months, civil disobedience by women in the form of refusing to wear headscarves continues to increase in Iran.