Mehdi Hashemi: 'An expert should examine the audio file attributed to me'

Mehdi Hashemi's lawyer, the son of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, announced that his client has called the audio file attributed to him 'fabricated' and requested the court to have it examined by an 'expert'. Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai said in an interview with the Tasnim news agency on Saturday, February 11, that 'this audio file relates to Nikahang Kowsar, who claims to have spoken on the phone with Mehdi Hashemi and that Mehdi made statements that can be interpreted as insults to some officials.' He added, 'Of course, Mehdi Hashemi denied it and said he did not say such things and that it is fabricated. This audio tape was also presented in a court in Canada, where its forgery was proven.' Mr. Alizadeh Tabatabai emphasized, 'We requested to refer this audio file to an expert, but I do not know if the judge has decided to refer it or not.' Following the publication of this news, Nikahang Kowsar, a cartoonist residing in the United States, called Mr. Alizadeh Tabatabai's statements 'a fabrication of reality' and also published an image of his message to him on Facebook. In this message, referring to the statements published by Mr. Alizadeh Tabatabai in the Tasnim news agency, he wrote, 'If you wish, I can provide you with the rest of the files to hand over to an expert to determine whether Mr. Hashemi's voice is correct or not.' He emphasized in this message that he does not consider the publication of these files to be in Mehdi Hashemi's interest. In December 2012, after Mehdi Hashemi was imprisoned, an audio file of a phone conversation between Nikahang Kowsar and a person was published online, which is said to be Mehdi Hashemi. In this audio file, political conditions following the 2009 presidential election are discussed, and criticisms are made against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, and his son Mojtaba. Mohsen Hashemi, Mehdi Hashemi's older brother, and Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai, his lawyer, have called this audio file 'fabricated and false.' In contrast, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Tehran, said on Tuesday, December 11, 2012, 'In our view, someone who denies it is the one to whom it is attributed.' Nikahang Kowsar stated in an interview with Radio Farda on November 15, 2012, that he had submitted this audio file along with many other documents of his conversations and internet correspondence with Mehdi Hashemi as evidence to a court in Ontario, Canada, where he had appeared as a witness. The court in question is one where Houshang Bozari filed a lawsuit against Mehdi Hashemi, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the former president of Iran, and Ali Fallahian, the Minister of Intelligence during Rafsanjani's presidency, on charges of 'kidnapping, torture, illegal detention, and extortion' in the year 2000. Mr. Bozari claimed that during Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's presidency, he was the consultant for a consortium of five European companies that had managed to sign a $2 billion contract for the development of South Pars with the National Iranian Oil Company. Houshang Bozari claims that after refusing to comply with Mehdi Hashemi's 'extortion' demands, who was then the CEO of the Iranian Marine Engineering Company, he was arrested and tortured. The examining court condemned Mehdi Hashemi to pay $13 million in damages. Mr. Alizadeh Tabatabai further stated, 'Unfortunately, some individuals want to pressure the judicial system through propaganda and atmosphere creation.' He added, 'We have talked about these issues many times, but Mr. Moghiseh says to pursue these matters through the parliament and the Special Court for Clergy, and it has nothing to do with the court.' Following the sentencing of Mohammad Reza Rahimi, the former first vice president, several conservative members of the Iranian parliament, including Hamid Rasai, Alireza Zakani, and Mohammad Dehghan, have called for a decisive and swift ruling in Mehdi Hashemi's case. Mr. Rasai also announced on Saturday morning, November 1, coinciding with the 14th court session of Mehdi Hashemi, that he delivered a letter from 110 parliament members to the judge of the case 'for holding a public trial' and stated that a committee is tasked with 'monitoring and tracking' the actions of the authorities regarding this case. According to IRNA news agency, so far, twenty-five sessions of the proceedings of Mehdi Hashemi's case have been held in Branch 28 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Judge Mohammad Moghiseh, and after the conclusion of the twenty-fifth session, the judge announced a recess for 'a series of investigations, inquiries, and expert work.'