Judiciary Spokesman: Restrictions on Khatami May Increase

Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesman for Iran's judiciary, emphasized on Sunday that the new restrictions imposed on Mohammad Khatami relate to the Special Clerical Court, and quoted the special prosecutor as saying that these restrictions may be intensified. In a press conference on Sunday, November 7, Mr. Ejei responded to a question regarding the new restrictions on former President Mohammad Khatami and the prohibition of his attendance at a meeting of the Baran Foundation. The Baran Foundation is an organization established by Mohammad Khatami after his presidency, and it has recently been reported that security agents prevented his attendance at a meeting of this foundation due to a three-month restriction imposed on the former president. However, on Sunday, the judiciary spokesman stated that these restrictions pertain to the Special Clerical Court, and quoting the special prosecutor, he mentioned that these restrictions may "continue after three months or not, and perhaps they may even increase." The Special Clerical Court is an institution outside the constitutional framework of the Islamic Republic, with its prosecutor and head appointed directly by the Supreme Leader, and it deals with allegations against clerics. Currently, the special prosecutor of this court is Ebrahim Raisi, a former judicial official and the main rival of Hassan Rouhani in the last presidential election. Previously, the Tehran prosecutor had also announced that some of the restrictions imposed on Mohammad Khatami were determined by the Special Clerical Court. Since the controversial presidential election of 2009, former President Mohammad Khatami has been under severe restrictions, including media restrictions, which have practically intensified with the rise of Hassan Rouhani to power in 2013. The former president was a major supporter of Hassan Rouhani in both recent elections in 2013 and 2017, but while judicial officials attribute some of Khatami's media restrictions to a decision by the Supreme National Security Council, Hassan Rouhani, as the head of this council, has been unable to make any changes in this regard. Recently, after it was reported that security agents had imposed three-month restrictions on Mr. Khatami's attendance at various meetings and gatherings, some members of parliament expressed the opinion that given these circumstances, the former president is effectively under house arrest. The spokesman for the Iranian judiciary also referred to another issue related to Mohammad Khatami; the fate of his complaint against Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the cultural-social deputy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Khatami's lawyer announced last December that the former president had filed a complaint against Naqdi for the accusation of "receiving money from the King of Saudi Arabia for political activities." This accusation has been repeated many times in recent years by Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the former head of the Basij Organization, and a renewed emphasis on it in an interview with Shargh newspaper led to Khatami's complaint. In this interview, the Shargh reporter reminded that such a claim has been denied, and Naqdi responded that if it has been denied, "they should sue me and put me on trial." In this regard, last March, Mohammad Anjam, Khatami's lawyer, announced that the branch handling his complaint had communicated this complaint to Mohammad Reza Naqdi through the special office of the General Staff of the Armed Forces located in the office of the Supreme Leader. Now, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesman for the Iranian judiciary, has stated that this case is still under investigation in the court, and no indictment has been issued in this regard. In this context, security forces prevented Khatami from leaving his home. 86 members of parliament protested against the new restrictions imposed on Mohammad Khatami and confirmed the "three-month restrictions" against him; Rouhani criticized this "punishment". Motahari's sharp criticism of the Special Clerical Court and the "imposition of restrictions" on Khatami. Conflicting reports about the imposition of "further restrictions on Mohammad Khatami". Aref: Rouhani should negotiate to lift Khatami's house arrest and media ban. The problem of Mohammad Khatami for the "system": weak, less harmful, but unreliable. Mohammad Khatami has "filed complaints against Mohammad Reza Naqdi and Hossein Shariatmadari."