Increased Demands for Public Trial of Babak Zanjani

The newspaper Etemad reported on the "revival of high-level dialogues between Iran and the European Union," stating that "soon, high-level talks between Iran and Europe, led by Mohammad Javad Zarif and Federica Mogherini, will resume after a 10-year hiatus." The Iran newspaper published photos of the foreign ministers of the Czech Republic and Spain, as well as the President of Austria, on the front page of its Tuesday issue, and in a report titled "A Warm Season of Cooperation between Iran and Europe," it wrote: "In an unprecedented event, Tehran simultaneously hosted high-ranking officials from Austria, the Czech Republic, and Spain." Iran reported that after the visit of the foreign ministers of the Czech Republic and Spain to Tehran, "Heinz Fischer, the President of Austria, arrived in Tehran for a three-day official visit on Monday evening." This newspaper also reported in a news item titled "The Largest Scientific Delegation from Europe Heading to Iran" that "a delegation consisting of the Austrian Minister of Science, Research, and Economy, along with 17 university and research center heads, is coming to Iran." The Shargh newspaper reported on the requests from some members of parliament for a "public" trial of Babak Zanjani, emphasizing that the lawyer of this financial corruption suspect also supports such a request. The Aftab Yazd newspaper reported on increasing pressures on the Ministry of Interior to prevent the activities of the newly established reformist party. This newspaper wrote that Mohsen Heydari, one of the representatives from Khuzestan in the Assembly of Experts, described the issuance of a license for the activities of the Union of Islamic Nation Party as the "greatest crime" by the Ministry of Interior, stating: "The Union of Islamic Nation Party is like the companions of the Sabbath, who ultimately became intoxicated and turned into monkeys." This newspaper also quoted "Jalal Jalali-Zadeh, brother of a martyr and veteran" and a member of the Union of Islamic Nation Party, saying: "What can be said to someone who compares a Muslim person to a monkey?" and "In my opinion, someone who considers the families of martyrs to be instigators and traitors does not believe in the revolution." However, the Resalat newspaper dedicated its front page to this member of the Assembly of Experts, quoting him as saying: "Politicizing the Assembly of Experts is a new innovation of the instigators," and that Mohammad Khatami "was a key figure in the instigation." The Jam-e Jam newspaper, in its front page report titled "Passenger Rights; Baggage Left Behind from the Flight," wrote: "The latest monthly statistics released on flight delays in August this year indicate a nearly 50% increase." This newspaper also reported on the "waste of donated blood in hospitals," stating: "The donation of over two million blood units last year has placed Iranians at the top of blood donors in the Middle East; however, despite this good occurrence, reports indicate that there is no proper management over the use of these donated blood units." The Shahrvand newspaper reported the existence of "15,000 street addicts in Tehran," with the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation alone covering "30,000 families with an addicted head of household." The Qanoon newspaper, in its front page of Tuesday's issue, wrote that Saeed Jalili, head of the nuclear negotiation team in the previous government, "has declared himself a nuclear victor by denying the achievements of Rouhani's government in the JCPOA commission." This newspaper emphasized that "three paralyzing resolutions against Iran were passed during Saeed Jalili's era," writing: "Saeed Jalili, who according to Robert J. Einhorn, the senior U.S. negotiator, instead of resolving the nuclear crisis in those negotiations, spoke of 'the history of Islam and Iran for foreign negotiators,' these days, when invited by hardline representatives to the special commission reviewing the JCPOA, questions the Rouhani government, Mohammad Javad Zarif, and the nuclear team, whose skills are acknowledged by all political and foreign policy experts, and seeks to undermine the achievements of the negotiations." Rasul Montajeb-Nia, deputy of the National Trust Party, in a note in the Arman newspaper, referred to Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as "the father of the movement" and "the father of the revolution," stating: "Certainly, Hashemi Rafsanjani should play the leading role among the candidates in the Assembly of Experts." The Shahrvand newspaper dedicated its front page to "the demolition of 38 unauthorized buildings in the vicinity of the Kahrizak River" and simultaneously reported that "the demolition of unauthorized constructions in Hirkan Astara has also begun." The statements of Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, regarding "the requirements for active presence in cyberspace" have been welcomed by some newspapers, with Resalat, Javan, Shahrvand, Farhikhtegan, and Quds being among those that published these remarks as their main headline or one of their main headlines. The Javan newspaper, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, wrote in its front page that the leader of the Islamic Republic, during a meeting with the president and members of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, said: "Get out of passivity in cyberspace." The "revival of high-level dialogues between Iran and the European Union" was reported by the Etemad newspaper, stating: "Soon, high-level talks between Iran and Europe, led by Mohammad Javad Zarif and Federica Mogherini, will resume after a 10-year hiatus." According to this newspaper, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, the Deputy for Europe and America at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, stated that "on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Ms. Mogherini and Mr. Zarif will meet and discuss the topics raised during the visit to Tehran." Sara Masoumi, in a report for Etemad, citing the announcement from Majid Takht-Ravanchi, wrote: "Nuclear debates will give way to high-level discussions regarding relations between Iran and Europe. The green continent seeks to return to the peak days of its diplomatic relationship with Tehran, and it seems that with the removal of the nuclear obstacle, the rocky path of bilateral relations has also become smoother." Now, "Europeans can move away from merely nuclear discourse with Iran and focus on expanding comprehensive relations with Iran." This newspaper emphasized that "the confrontation" in Iran-Europe relations "is giving way to interaction, while regional issues could be the first and best subject for opening a new chapter." It wrote: "The Middle East is burning with tensions and activities of terrorist groups, and the flames of this fire have reached the European Union as well." Etemad also referred to the "overlapping" interests of Europe and Iran in the region, stating: "Unlike the United States, Europeans have never viewed Iran's regional activities as entirely contrary to their interests in the region. Many of Iran's and Europeans' interests in the region overlap, which cannot be denied, and perhaps today's benefit for Europe, which is grappling with various economic crises, is close cooperation with Iran." According to this newspaper, the plan to revive "high-level dialogues" emerged after the nuclear agreement and when Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, visited Iran, at which time Mohammad Javad Zarif announced that "Iran and the European Union would enter into high-level dialogues with each other." The Etemad newspaper, while reviewing Iran's relations with EU member states, reminded that "Iran and the European Union have gone through three periods of dialogue since the victory of the Islamic Revolution until today, from critical dialogues in the first decade after the revolution to comprehensive dialogues that sparked with the rise of the reformist government led by Mohammad Khatami," and the third period of this relationship was "relative stagnation in bilateral political relations" that "began in the late years of the ninth government and continued until the beginning of the eleventh government." The increase in demands for a public trial of Babak Zanjani was reported by the Shargh newspaper, which noted that some members of parliament are calling for a "public" trial for Babak Zanjani, emphasizing that the lawyer of this financial corruption suspect also supports such a request. According to this newspaper, Babak Zanjani was arrested on December 30, 2013, after Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, the oil minister, first reported on his "€2.5 billion debt to the oil company" and that "he owes every Iranian 110,000 tomans," while "Babak Zanjani is only a small part of the corruption and violations of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government; from this perspective, addressing his case is of great importance to officials, public opinion, and members of parliament." Shargh noted that October 11 has been set as the date for the first session of Babak Zanjani's trial, writing: "Before we know it, October 11 will arrive, and Babak Zanjani must leave the heights of Evin and head to court to witness the days of judgment. A judgment whose public or private nature is now uncertain, and various points about it are being raised; however, the representatives following the case in parliament insist on the necessity of holding the trial publicly and emphasize their presence in Zanjani's court." Rasul Kouhpayeh, Babak Zanjani's lawyer, also told the Shargh newspaper: "Although a final decision on this matter has not yet been made, as Zanjani's lawyer, we undoubtedly emphasize the need for a public trial," although "the decision rests with the judge, and no specific predictions have been made in this regard; however, as Zanjani's lawyer, I hope the trial session will be held publicly so that after two years of my client being under accusation, he can defend himself in a public space. Overall, I would be both happy and welcoming if the public session is held." Nemat Ahmadi, a lawyer and legal expert, also told this newspaper: "Zanjani's trial will undoubtedly be held publicly based on legal principles, and holding a private trial requires special conditions; in addition to the judge, the prosecutor must also determine that the trial should be private, but my legal review of Zanjani's historical violations indicates that there is no provision for holding the trial privately." Hossein Dehdashti, a member of parliament and one of the representatives following Babak Zanjani's case, told the Shargh newspaper: "He will undoubtedly be present at the trial session" and will follow the case, just as Amir Abbas Soltani, another representative from the ninth parliament, also "intends to attend Babak Zanjani's trial." The Shargh newspaper reminded that several representatives have so far "twice requested a meeting with Babak Zanjani from the judiciary," but these meetings have not been approved, and "now whether the request for a meeting with Zanjani is conventional or not, the representatives have saddled their horses for presence on the day of the trial, and even if a meeting with the accused is not possible, they intend to attend the trial sessions and closely follow the proceedings." Rasul Kouhpayeh, Babak Zanjani's lawyer, described the representatives' request for a meeting with Babak Zanjani as "illegal" and stated: "Presence at a public trial is legal, but the law does not provide this right for a member of parliament to meet with Zanjani, and this request is not within the framework of the law." According to the Shargh newspaper, Babak Zanjani's trial will be held on October 11, while Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, the oil minister, considers "Zanjani to be the record holder of corruption in the world" and "so far, the judiciary has investigated three ministers from Ahmadinejad's government regarding the signature they placed on Zanjani's credentials; men who blindly and without investigation approved the letter of someone who had already registered 15 violation cases before entering into oil sales and had several fake identities." This newspaper emphasized: "Perhaps raising the issue of Babak Zanjani presents a good opportunity to examine some of the rent-seeking behaviors in Iran; rents that often do not just summarize in the name of one person, and a network of individuals line up behind that person's name," and now "from members of parliament to legal experts and Zanjani's lawyer are calling for his trial session to be held publicly," but "it remains to be seen in the next week or two what the final decision regarding the manner of holding Zanjani's case will be." The Aftab Yazd newspaper reported on increased pressures on the Ministry of Interior following the activities of the newly established reformist party. This newspaper wrote that the Union of Islamic Nation Party "although it has legally obtained a license from the Ministry of Interior, has recently faced pressures from all sides, with principlist media hitting it hard and some responsible national figures warning the Ministry of Interior that if the reformists' 'Union of Nation' can operate, it will be the greatest crime in history." The Aftab Yazd newspaper referred to the statements of Mohsen Heydari, one of the representatives from Khuzestan in the Assembly of Experts, who said: "If the Ministry of Interior grants official status and a license to the Union of Islamic Nation Party, it will have committed the greatest crime in history, and God will not forgive them and will punish them. The Union of Islamic Nation Party is like the companions of the Sabbath; the companions of the Sabbath ultimately became intoxicated and turned into monkeys." The report by Omid Kajian in the Aftab Yazd newspaper regarding Mohsen Heydari's statements noted: "It seems that the great crimes of history are so small or appear small to some that now granting a license to a group is being compared to the greatest crimes in history and even given precedence over them," and it seems "the Minister of Interior should be compared to those like neo-Nazis and their crematoria for granting the legal right to a group of registered citizens to form a group." The Aftab Yazd newspaper pointed out that "these days, intense feelings and fears of competition and politics are evident in the speeches of opponents of reform, to the extent that they are even willing to use remarks worthy of consideration to compare a group of reformists to those who become 'intoxicated and turn into monkeys' by legal tricks."