Larijani on Mehdi Hashemi's Farewell Film: It Was to Undermine the Judiciary

Sadeq Amoli Larijani, referring to the imprisonment of Mehdi Hashemi, stated: "We should not create an atmosphere where anyone who has been in a position of responsibility and now has a ruling issued against them or their relatives questions the entire judiciary and everything else, and makes a farewell film to undermine the judiciary." The head of the judiciary referred to a film published on the official website of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, head of the Expediency Discernment Council, showing Mehdi Hashemi saying goodbye to his father before going to Evin prison. In the film, Mr. Hashemi recites prayers in his son's ear and expresses hope that he will be released soon and continue to 'serve'. However, the head of the judiciary criticized this behavior, saying: "Sometimes some rulings may be wrong, but undermining the judicial institution without reason and evidence, simply because a ruling has been issued against our relatives, is not a legal or religious act." Sadeq Amoli Larijani stated that "the rulings and judgments issued do not only pertain to the weak and ordinary people of society" and added that "such destructive efforts do not undermine the resolve of the judiciary." Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani introduced himself on Sunday, August 9, to serve his prison sentence. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison for crimes such as embezzlement, bribery, and security-related offenses. Fa'ezeh Hashemi, Mehdi Hashemi's sister, who has also been imprisoned previously, stated that her brother's prison sentence was aimed at 'diminishing' Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's presence and influence in the Assembly of Experts and the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections. However, the head of the judiciary stated: "There is no motivation among judicial officials to issue unjust and illegal rulings against anyone, and the senior judicial officials and the judiciary's body will not sell their afterlife for the world of others."