Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Office Calls for Cases of Judicial 'Injustice' to be Submitted

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's office has issued a call for individuals who, according to them, have faced 'injustice and oppression' in judicial cases to send their files and documents to this office. The website 'Dolat-e Bahar', close to the former president, published this call. The announcement states that individuals who have been subjected to 'injustice and oppression' in judicial cases should 'send the content of their files along with their documents for reflection.' An email and a Telegram address for submitting the cases have been provided. 'Dolat-e Bahar' noted that senders must include 'the name of the complainant, the name of the defendant, the court branch handling the case, the subject of the complaint, the defense statement, the verdict of the primary and appellate courts, a copy of their national ID card, and their address.' This call comes after Ahmadinejad has repeatedly stated in speeches and open letters that the Islamic Republic's judiciary has 'completely' deviated from the path of 'justice' and has turned into a 'dictatorship.' It is still unclear what actions the former president intends to take regarding these cases. During his eight years in office, especially after the widespread crackdowns and arrests of 2009, he did not criticize the Iranian judicial and security system, but in recent months has strongly criticized the judiciary, claiming it is 'serving the desires and interests' of its officials. Ahmadinejad has cited the sentences issued against Hamid Baghaei, his executive assistant during his presidency, as a basis for his accusations, claiming that the judiciary has fabricated 'a bunch of papers' as economic charges against Baghaei. Baghaei has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds. He was arrested on March 13 to serve his sentence and has reportedly been on a hunger strike since then. Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, Ahmadinejad's chief of staff during his presidency, was also arrested two days after he burned Baghaei's verdict in front of the British embassy in Tehran. Ahmadinejad's office accused judiciary officials on April 1 of 'intending to take the lives' of Baghaei and Mashaei by 'trampling all legal and even humanitarian standards.' In a statement, Ahmadinejad's office claimed that judiciary officials have arrested Mashaei and Baghaei as part of a 'targeted plan' and have made them 'targets of their illegal and vindictive behavior.' Following increased pressure on his former administration's officials, Ahmadinejad wrote two letters to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, strongly criticizing the country's situation and calling for the removal of the head of the judiciary and 'immediate and free elections' without interference from 'security institutions' and 'the Guardian Council's engineering.' The recent call from his office to receive cases of individuals who have faced 'injustice and oppression' from the judiciary has arisen amid ongoing tensions between him and the judiciary. Judiciary officials have not remained idle in response to Ahmadinejad's criticisms, and in addition to arresting several of his managers and supporters, they have engaged in verbal confrontations with him. Among them, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei likened Ahmadinejad to 'a thug who had fallen out of favor and was suffering' and stated that his tongue 'has become loose and he says whatever comes to his mind.' In addition to many of Ahmadinejad's former supporters distancing themselves from him, labeling his positions as 'subversive' and 'serving the enemy,' critics also doubt the sincerity of the former president's criticisms of government institutions, particularly the judiciary. The reason for these doubts is Ahmadinejad's previous complicity or at least silence regarding the arrests and crackdowns of 2009 and his 'repeated insults' towards his opponents.