Member of Parliament Calls Signature on Complaint Against Motahari Forged

Several members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly withdrew their signatures from a complaint against Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, and one representative claimed that the signature attributed to him on this complaint was forged. The newspaper Aftab Yazd, published in Tehran, reported on Thursday, September 1, quoting Abdollah Rezian, a representative from Qaem Shahr, that his signature on the complaint against Ali Motahari, which was prepared due to his positions regarding the executions of 1988, is 'forged.' The authors of this complaint, who are among the conservatives in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, have called for the Supervisory Board on Representatives to take action against Mr. Motahari and to disqualify him from holding the position of Deputy Speaker of Parliament. However, the representative from Qaem Shahr, whose signature appears on this complaint, claims that he has never seen this letter and that he is friends with Ali Motahari. Mr. Rezian then emphasized that he would pursue legal action regarding this matter. Following the release of an audio file of a conversation between Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the then Deputy Leader of the Islamic Republic, and a three-member committee on the mass executions of 1988, Ali Motahari wrote a letter to Mostafa PourMohammadi, the current Minister of Justice in Iran and a member of the aforementioned committee, demanding accountability regarding those executions. This event, however, provoked a strong reaction from various conservative factions, including several members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly who prepared a complaint against him in recent days. This complaint initially had 20 signatures, but the authors later announced that it had reached 35 signatures. Meanwhile, some of the signatories of the letter prepared another letter addressed to the Presidency of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stating that they never intended to file a complaint against Mr. Motahari. Alireza Rahimi is one of these representatives who stated in an interview with the Islamic Republic News Agency, IRNA, on Wednesday: 'Six members of Parliament announced in a letter that they mistakenly signed the complaint against Ali Motahari, believing they were signing a letter opposing his statements. They stated that they signed it as a letter and had no intention of filing a complaint, thus they withdrew their complaint and communicated in a written letter to Ali Larijani that they have no complaint against Ali Motahari.' Mr. Rahimi ultimately mentioned that the signatures on this letter are increasing, and it is likely that more individuals will withdraw their complaints. Previously, Mostafa PourMohammadi reacted to Ali Motahari's letter by stating that he is proud of the 1988 executions and considers it God's decree. Mr. PourMohammadi also warned Mr. Motahari that he is 'playing into the enemy's hands' with such positions. However, Ali Motahari insisted on his positions, stating that 'officials should provide necessary explanations instead of making slogans.' The victims of the 1988 executions were thousands of prisoners from the People's Mojahedin and Marxist groups who had previously been sentenced to imprisonment in court. The exact number of those executed remains unclear. Ayatollah Montazeri, who opposed these executions, estimated the number of executions in his memoirs to be between 2,800 and 3,800.