Iran's Judiciary Spokesman Announces the Arrest of Hamid Baghaei

The spokesman for Iran's judiciary announced that Hamid Baghaei, the executive deputy of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was arrested on Tuesday, June 8. According to the state news agency IRNA, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei stated in an interview with reporters: "The investigator of the case summoned the former vice president today, and he has been arrested for half an hour." Mr. Mohseni Ejei mentioned that he is "unable" to disclose details of the charges against Mr. Baghaei. In 2011, following the arrest of Alireza Moghimi, Ali-Asghar Parhizkar, and Azadeh Ardakani, heads of the Arvand and Aras Free Zones and the head of the National Museum of Iran, who were referred to as close associates of Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei and Hamid Baghaei, rumors emerged about the potential arrest of these two individuals for financial misconduct. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reacted to these rumors by calling his cabinet a "red line" and stated that "if they want to interfere with it, I must fulfill my legal duty." Hamid Baghaei served as the head of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization after Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei was appointed as the president's chief of staff in Ahmadinejad's second term, and he was also the deputy of this organization in Ahmadinejad's first term. Over the past years, some members of the Iranian parliament and officials from Hassan Rouhani's government have accused Mr. Baghaei of financial misconduct. For instance, Akbar Turkan, head of the Secretariat of the Supreme Council of Free Zones, accused Mr. Baghaei on Friday, June 9, 2014, of renting "three government buildings at a very low rate to an institute under his supervision." Mr. Turkan had previously stated that "16 billion tomans were deposited into the account of the Iranian University belonging to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the day of Hassan Rouhani's inauguration." Following this accusation, Hamid Baghaei announced that the 16 billion tomans had been returned to the government, stating that "the return of the 16 billion tomans was voluntary; Turkan should not think he is a police commissioner." In 2011, Ahmad Tavakoli, a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, reported that Mr. Baghaei attempted to assign a 450 billion toman project to a private company and was "involved in it." The spokesman for the judiciary also reported the arrest of six individuals due to what he described as "anti-security actions and illegal calls" on social media, adding: "It became clear that these individuals had completely anti-security motives, and the case is under investigation." Mr. Mohseni Ejei did not provide details about the actions of these six individuals. He further announced the arrest of "several individuals in Tehran and other provinces, including Kerman," who, according to him, were "promoting corruption and prostitution" through social media. He added: "They thought they were working in a complicated manner, but they were identified, and five of them were arrested." The spokesman emphasized: "One individual, using some forged documents and exploiting certain fatwas regarding temporary marriage, connected inappropriate individuals for income and managed to earn 170 million tomans." According to Mr. Mohseni Ejei, this individual is currently in custody in Tehran. Regarding the poisoning incident of 33 Saudi pilgrims in a hotel in Mashhad, the spokesman quoted the prosecutor of the city as saying that "nothing has been found to indicate intentionality or criminality, although this statement is not definitive." Mr. Mohseni Ejei stated that five individuals have been arrested in connection with this case, and samples have been taken from the deceased individuals as well as from the water, "air, and food" of the hotel. Abdullah Bahrami, head of Imam Reza Hospital in Mashhad, reported that after 23 Saudi pilgrims were hospitalized on the morning of Sunday, June 17, due to poisoning, a 14-year-old girl and two three-year-old children died. Hours after this report was released, Mr. Bahrami announced that the number of poisoned individuals had risen to 33, and another three-year-old child had also passed away.