Javanfekr and Baqai Summoned to Prosecutor's Office

Media in Iran report the summoning of Ali Akbar Javanfekr, media advisor to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Hamid Reza Baqai, Deputy of the ninth and tenth governments, to the Prosecutor's Office of Culture and Media. ISNA news agency reported on Wednesday, October 25, that Mr. Javanfekr is accused of 'participating in disrupting public order and assisting in insult and dissemination of falsehoods.' The fourth branch of the Tehran Prosecutor's Office of Culture and Media has stated in its notification that he has five days to appear for clarification. On October 21, Ali Akbar Javanfekr, along with Hamid Reza Baqai, had gone to the special court for government employees but was not allowed to attend the court session. The notification published by ISNA does not mention the reason for the summons, but on the sidelines of Baqai's previous court session held on Sunday, he indirectly referred to the head of the judiciary, stating that neither his daughter is a spy nor does he have 63 bank accounts. Mr. Baqai also mentioned that the complainants are the heads of the three branches of government. Another report from ISNA also indicates the summoning of Mr. Baqai to the Prosecutor's Office of Culture and Media. His accusation is 'insulting officials and disseminating falsehoods with the intent to disturb public opinion.' According to this report, Ali Asghar Hosseini, Baqai's lawyer, has also been summoned to this prosecutor's office on charges of 'participating in disrupting public order, assisting in insult and dissemination of falsehoods.' The Prosecutor's Office of Culture and Media has warned all three in separate notifications that if they do not appear within the next five days, they will be arrested. Hamid Reza Baqai was arrested in 2015 on charges of 'embezzlement,' and afterward, individuals close to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reported that he was released by the order of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. He was also arrested in July of this year and released on a bail of 20 billion tomans. Mr. Baqai, along with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had registered to run for the presidential elections in 2017, but the Guardian Council rejected their qualifications. After his recent court session, he called it 'political' and indirectly stated, 'I neither have 63 personal accounts, nor is my daughter a spy for England, nor is my brother corrupt.' Baqai's reference to the issue of 'personal accounts' was related to the head of the judiciary and an unverified report from the Amad News website about 'Zahra Larijani's spying,' the daughter of the head of the judiciary. The issue of the judiciary head's spying has been denied by Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, officials of this branch, and the Minister of Intelligence. In this context, the head of the judiciary criticized the labeling of some cases as 'political' and threatened that he would deal with 'slander and defamation against this branch to put an end to this situation.'