Hashemi: They told Mehdi to request a pardon or continue his lengthy case

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani stated that interrogators had asked his son, Mehdi, to either request a pardon from the Supreme Leader of Iran or continue with his lengthy, multi-thousand-page case. The head of the Expediency Discernment Council made these remarks on Tuesday, July 23, while speaking to reporters and media managers in response to a question from a journalist. According to a report published by the ISNA news agency from this meeting, Mr. Rafsanjani described his visit with his son in prison, stating that at Mehdi's insistence, 'to avoid being overheard, we walked in the parking lot of the prison in the rain.' He stated: 'Mehdi told me that they (the interrogators) say you have two options: either request a pardon from the Leader in a few lines or you must continue this lengthy and multi-thousand-page case.' Mr. Rafsanjani added: 'Mehdi himself told me that despite not wanting to do this because I know I have committed no crime, if you and the Leader want me to do this, I will.' I told him to let me consult with the Leader.' The head of the Expediency Discernment Council then described his meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei on this matter, saying that he told the Leader, 'I am not satisfied with him (Mehdi) requesting a pardon and you accepting it,' because, according to Mr. Hashemi, this issue 'will not reflect well in the eyes of society; they will say why the Leader does not pay attention to the pardon requests of other prisoners and they will say Hashemi influenced the case of his son.' As Mr. Hashemi recounted, the Leader of Iran accepted his 'reasoning' and 'after that, we informed Mehdi to act as he sees fit, and he emphasized that since I know I have committed no sin, let everyone understand, and if I have committed a sin, let me be tried in this world.' Mehdi Hashemi was charged upon his return to Iran at the airport on October 24, 2012, and was arrested after presenting himself to the prosecutor's office. He was released on bail on December 17, 2012, after nearly three months in custody. He has been accused by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran of embezzlement, bribery, and disrupting national security. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the first deputy of the judiciary, stated on June 11 this year: 'The initial ruling in Mehdi Hashemi's case has been confirmed, and the highest punishment, which is ten years in prison, will be executed against him.' The handling of his case has been controversial in Iranian media in recent months, and Mr. Ejei alluded to this case in his Friday prayer sermon on July 6, saying that a 'powerful individual' threatens the judiciary. The change of the judge in the case was another point of contention between Mehdi Hashemi and his lawyer with the Iranian judiciary regarding the 'fair' handling of the case of the son of the head of the Expediency Discernment Council. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani continued his remarks on Tuesday, saying: 'Let me stop here and not say more so that his judicial case can proceed as it should; of course, Mehdi and his lawyers have things to say that they will say in due time. I just want to say that Joseph goes to prison from his pure womb.'