Makarem Shirazi: The Release of Montazeri's Audio File Was a Retaliatory Act That Must Be Taken Seriously

Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, a Shia cleric in Qom, stated that the release of the audio file of Ayatollah Montazeri's meeting with the judiciary during the executions of 1988 was a retaliatory act against the Islamic Republic. According to reports from Wednesday's Election and Fars news agencies, Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi remarked during a meeting with the Attorney General of the country in Qom: "The release of Montazeri's audio file is a retaliatory action against the regime that must be taken seriously." He added that a group is seeking a retaliatory movement to dismantle the Islamic Republic. "There is coordination between these individuals and those outside the country, and serious action must be taken against such individuals to prevent such issues from recurring in society." Following the release of the audio file of Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri's meeting with judicial officials including Hossein Ali Niri, Morteza Eshraqi, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, and Ebrahim Raisi in 1988, his son, Ahmad Montazeri, was summoned to the Special Court for Clergy. Ahmad Montazeri was sentenced to 21 years in prison and defrocked for releasing this audio file regarding the 1988 executions, where Ayatollah Montazeri referred to the mass execution of political prisoners as "the greatest crime" in the history of the Islamic Republic. Makarem Shirazi also criticized the online reactions to the situation of the "grave sleepers" in a western Tehran area, labeling them as a "disaster" of the virtual space that politicizes such issues. He stated that "imperialist and colonialist governments" have stirred stories about the "grave sleepers" in the virtual space. He added that these governments spread "every moral, political poison, and insult to the sacred" in cyberspace, while currently, "hundreds of thousands of homeless people are in America, some sleeping next to sewers." This cleric deemed the virtual space treatable, stating that "it requires serious determination to be treated, and treating the situation in the virtual space does not cost much." He urged the president, judiciary, and other officials to collaborate and address the "virtual space problems that are tangible to them." He also mentioned that some ministers had downplayed the corruption in this sector, indicating that they either did not see the virtual space or wanted to justify it. On Thursday, he stated that "preventive measures have not been effective; one cannot rely on filters." He noted that users can bypass these filters through specific means, suggesting that alternative approaches should be taken. This cleric also expressed disappointment that the Supreme Council of Cyberspace is not working diligently in this area and hoped for more serious efforts. Makarem Shirazi has long called for limiting the activities of internet users in Iran and restricting their access to the internet. In recent months, close associates of the Supreme Leader and some prominent clerics have criticized the state of cyberspace and called for more restrictions on internet use in Iran. For instance, Naser Makarem Shirazi has described the internet as "a very filthy and dangerous swamp" for the youth. On December 5, Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani, the temporary Friday prayer leader of Tehran, criticized the prevalence of "tele-sex and internet sex" on Persian-language social networks, claiming that currently "millions of websites promote corruption, prostitution, and obscene films and photos."