Judiciary Chief: Establishing a Citizens' Rights Institution is Against Sharia and Law

Following attacks from the Attorney General and the spokesperson of the Judiciary against Hassan Rouhani, the head of the Judiciary also referred to the government's efforts to establish a 'Citizens' Rights Institution' as 'against Sharia and law'. According to the Mizan news agency, Sadegh Larijani stated on Sunday, July 2, at a nationwide conference of the Judiciary that the formation of another national institution parallel to the Human Rights Headquarters of the Judiciary is 'against Sharia and law'. He urged the government to 'submit its proposals in this regard so that the Human Rights Headquarters of the Judiciary can advance this work.' Hassan Rouhani had promised that if he won the presidential election, his government would send a bill to establish a 'National Citizens' Rights Institution' to the parliament within the first 100 days of his administration. Rouhani's government published a charter called 'Citizens' Rights' in the fall of 2016, which described certain intrusions into citizens' lives, religious and ethnic discrimination as unconstitutional, and emphasized the rights of women and minorities. This charter received negative reactions from some conservatives, including Mohammad Yazdi, a member of the Guardian Council, who described it as 'electoral propaganda' and 'against the law'. In another part of his speech, the Judiciary Chief referred to the Supreme Leader's statements about 'America's efforts to infiltrate' Iran, stating that the Judiciary 'must firmly stand against this infiltration'. He emphasized that armed activities within what he called the 'infiltration project' are considered 'mohareb' (waging war against God) and non-armed activities in that context are 'in many cases a manifestation of corruption on earth'. Heavy punishments, including execution, are prescribed for charges such as 'mohareb' and 'corruption on earth' in the laws of the Islamic Republic. Larijani also stated: 'Look at the attacks against the leadership of the system, against the Judiciary, the head of the Judiciary, the Guardian Council, the Secretary of the Guardian Council, the Revolutionary Guards... it seems that this itself is a sedition.' He further announced that some criticisms of the Judiciary 'in practice undermine the independence of the judicial system and do not count as criticism.' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, has repeatedly warned about what he calls 'America's infiltration' in Iran following the Vienna nuclear agreement, and Hassan Rouhani and his close associates have also warned against the 'factional use of the term infiltration'. The verbal clashes between Hassan Rouhani and Ayatollah Khamenei, as well as the institutions under his supervision, have increased following Rouhani's re-election as president. Meanwhile, prior to Larijani's remarks, Hassan Rouhani criticized some actions of the Judiciary and emphasized the need for an 'independent and impartial judiciary', stating that 'no one should be summoned or arrested before having evidence'. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson and first deputy of the Judiciary, stated on Friday that 'new sedition is on the horizon' in reference to the 'destruction' against the Revolutionary Guards, Basij, and the Judiciary. Previously, on July 1, Hassan Rouhani indirectly criticized the activities of the Revolutionary Guards, stating that part of Iran's economy has been handed over to a 'government' that 'has both guns and media' and 'no one dares to compete with them'. Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, called these remarks 'unfair' and stated that if the government is 'without guns', it will be 'humiliated and subdued by enemies'. On Saturday, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the Attorney General, criticized Rouhani's remarks during the presidential election against Ebrahim Raisi, another candidate in the election.