Javanfekr: Baghaei Goes on Hunger Strike in Protest of Illegal Detention

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's advisor announced on Thursday that Hamid Baghaei, a close associate of the former president, has gone on hunger strike in protest of his 'illegal' detention. He also expressed concern about Baghaei's physical condition. Ali Akbar Javanfekr, Ahmadinejad's media advisor, stated on his Telegram channel that Mr. Baghaei is suffering from 'gastrointestinal complications and extreme physical weakness' due to his previous detention. He emphasized that the hunger strike and the conditions of detention 'seriously jeopardize' Mr. Baghaei's health. Javanfekr declared that the responsibility for 'any harm to Mr. Hamid Baghaei's physical and mental health' lies 'directly with those who issued the baseless and illegal detention order.' Ahmadinejad's media advisor had previously reported on Sunday, July 9, that Hamid Baghaei was arrested in front of his house by order of his former case investigator and was imprisoned after a bail of 50 billion tomans was set and not posted. Two days later, Ahmadinejad described the detention of his executive assistant during his presidency as 'illegal' and a 'great injustice,' calling for his immediate release. Ahmadinejad implicitly linked Baghaei's arrest to his candidacy in the presidential elections and the allegations of bribery against Fazel Larijani, brother of Ali and Sadegh Larijani, the heads of the Parliament and Judiciary. On Sunday, February 3, 2013, during the impeachment session of Minister of Labor Abdolreza Sheikh al-Islami, Ahmadinejad released a video of a meeting between Saeed Mortazavi, the then head of the Social Security Organization, Fazel Larijani, and Babak Zanjani. The audio of the recorded conversation was unclear, but based on a text read by Ahmadinejad, Fazel Larijani requested a bribe from Saeed Mortazavi from companies contracted with the Social Security Organization. Meanwhile, Baghaei's summons and arrest occurred about two months after the imprisonment of Abdolreza Davari, Ahmadinejad's advisor. Reports indicate that Davari was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for three 'comments' made by 'unknown individuals' on a Facebook page attributed to him, accused of insulting the leadership of the Islamic Republic, but this sentence was ultimately reduced to two years on appeal. Ahmadinejad's case has also remained open in the Tehran Criminal Court for several years, and the newspaper 'Shargh' had previously reported the existence of '23 complaints' against him, including complaints from the Parliament. Shortly after Hassan Rouhani's victory in the 2013 presidential election, Ahmadinejad was summoned to court, but the judiciary spokesman described the summons as 'bad taste' and stated that judiciary officials were unaware of the matter. With the rise of Hassan Rouhani's government, several managers from the ninth and tenth governments, including Mohammad Reza Rahimi, Ahmadinejad's first vice president, were sentenced to prison for economic corruption. Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, and his close associates supported Ahmadinejad during the first four years of his presidency and also after the protests against the 2009 presidential election. However, after the appointment of Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei as first vice president in 2009 and the subsequent dismissal of Heydar Moslehi, the Minister of Intelligence, along with the famous 11-day house arrest of Ahmadinejad, the relationship between Khamenei's associates and Ahmadinejad soured significantly.