Mohammad Reza Khatami and Some Members of the Participation Front Summoned to Court

Mohammad Reza Khatami, a prominent reformist political figure, has stated that he and several activists from the Participation Front have been summoned to court; he has suggested that the recent summons may relate to the activities of this party. On September 6, he told ILNA news agency, "Last week, I received a message from an anonymous source on my voicemail" asking him to "report to Branch 26 of the court." The former Secretary General of the 'Islamic Participation Front of Iran' added that this process was not legal, and as a result, he did not attend the court, but his lawyer is following up on the matter. Khatami further explained the outcome of his lawyer's inquiry, stating that "apparently, an indictment has been issued for a case in the Revolutionary Court, which has been referred to this branch, and there may be an ongoing trial. However, since this indictment was not given to my lawyer, we will visit the court on Wednesday to review the indictment." The former Vice President of the Sixth Majlis also noted that since several individuals who previously worked in the Participation Front have also been summoned, it is likely that the summonses are related to the activities of this party. Khatami had also mentioned on August 21 that a summons had been served to him, giving him five days to appear in court. At that time, this reformist activist stated that he believed the summons was due to past activities. Following widespread protests in Iran after the 2009 presidential election, several political activists from the Participation Front and the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization were arrested. In the courts related to the election events, the prosecution had filed charges against these two organizations and sought their dissolution. The Secretary of the Article 10 Parties Commission of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government also reported in April 2010 the suspension of the activities of these two parties. However, this approach faced protests from these two political groups. The Participation Front had also stated that the dissolution of this party by the Revolutionary Court was illegal. In December 2015, this party expressed hope that with a change in the political climate in Iran, it would be able to resume its activities through a legal process.