Issuance of Law License for Saeed Mortazavi, Former Tehran Prosecutor, Sparks Controversy

The Yazd Bar Association has announced that it has issued a "law license" for Saeed Mortazavi, the former prosecutor of Tehran. This news has faced widespread reactions. The head of this association stated on Saturday, February 1, in response to a reporter from the "Vokala Press" website, that this action was taken "after obtaining legal inquiries and positive responses and following legal formalities." This comes despite Mortazavi being sentenced to "permanent disqualification from judicial services" due to his involvement in the deaths of several protesters after the 2009 presidential election in the Kahrizak prison case. However, Mohammad Hossein Jafari, the head of the Yazd Bar Association, claims that Mortazavi has been "acquitted of all charges," and the Judicial Disciplinary Prosecutor's Office has declared that there are no objections to issuing a law license for him. Saeed Mortazavi is one of the most controversial judicial figures in the Islamic Republic over the past two decades. He has been sanctioned by the European Union and the United States for human rights violations. In reaction to this news, Shirin Ebadi, a lawyer, expressed her condolences to the legal community on her Instagram page, stating that the history of the Islamic Republic has shown that "criminals and corrupt individuals" climb the ladder of success more rapidly and effectively. The Nobel Peace Prize winner further wrote: "Now that the Islamic Republic has stripped the judicial system of its meaning through the imposed rulings of security institutions and has further undermined their independence, this choice indicates the government's approach toward the Bar Association." Following the announcement of the issuance of a law license for Saeed Mortazavi, several lawyers from Fars and Tabriz filed a complaint regarding this matter in the Supreme Disciplinary Court for Judges. Mohammad Hadi Jafarpour, one of these lawyers, stated on Sunday that the legal process for issuing this license was not properly followed, telling the Shargh newspaper that according to the law, the Yazd Bar Association should have requested Mortazavi's records from other bar associations, which did not happen. According to this lawyer, under the law, a law license should not be issued for Saeed Mortazavi, who does not have a "good reputation" and "good conduct" based on his records. Many political activists, human rights advocates, and journalists hold this former judicial figure responsible for the closure of many press outlets, the murder case of Zahra Kazemi, an Iranian-Canadian journalist in 2003, the events at Kahrizak prison during the protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election, and widespread financial misconduct in the Social Security Organization. Despite the fact that many still believe the fate of the Kahrizak case and Mortazavi's direct role in it remains unclear, Mortazavi's defense attorney announced in August 2021 that his client had been acquitted of the charge of "aiding in murder" during the 2009 protests and stated that "he was innocent in the events that occurred in Kahrizak." In this case, although Mortazavi was transferred to prison to serve a two-year sentence, he was released after approximately 17 months in October 2019 due to what was termed "good behavior."