Mohammad Reza Khatami Pursued Legally Over Claims of 'Fraud in the 2009 Elections'

The Tehran Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor announced that Mohammad Reza Khatami, former Secretary-General of the Participation Party, is being pursued legally for questioning the 'integrity of the 2009 elections and the claim of eight million fraudulent votes.' Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi accused Khatami of failing to provide evidence to support his claims. He stated: 'Recently, a man claimed that eight million votes were fraudulent in the 2009 elections, and when the prosecutor summoned him and asked what evidence he had, he referred to the statements of Zaid and Amr. Therefore, this individual is under investigation, and an indictment is about to be issued.' In November, Khatami discussed the controversial presidential election of 2009 in a video interview, reiterating that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's victory was the result of 'fraud.' He rejected the official government statistics claiming 39 million participated in that election, stating he heard from 'informed individuals' that 'eight million votes were added to the ballots at the national election headquarters' and 'fraud occurred.' Following this interview, Khatami was summoned to the prosecutor's office in mid-December, and now the public prosecutor announces that an indictment against him is imminent. In defense of the prosecutor's decision, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi stated: 'Today, the media environment in the country is such that they say whatever they want and expect not to be pursued legally, and they raise the issue of press freedom to defend themselves, while the media is legally obligated to publish factual, correct, and non-defamatory content.' The legal pursuit of this reformist figure due to his statements occurs while political activists accuse the judiciary of ignoring controversial statements from individuals close to the conservative faction against the government and colluding with them. Another part of the prosecutor's statements on Tuesday criticized the way domestic media address the issue of economic corruption and judicial actions against those accused of corruption, stating: 'The people's movement in this regard is ahead of the media.' He claimed that 'domestic media have published false information instead of supporting the judiciary,' while 'people thank the judiciary for its actions in fighting corruption.' Amid the crisis in Iran's currency and coin market, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, agreed to the Chief Justice's proposal to establish special courts with three revolutionary court judges to address the cases of 'economic corruptors.' These courts expedite the trial process and execution of sentences against the accused, so the accused cannot appeal sentences issued except for death penalties. The sentences of these courts have led to the execution of Vahid Malmoulin and Mohammad Ismail Qasemi for disrupting the coin market and currency smuggling. Several other defendants also face the death penalty, including Hamid Bagheri Damani, who is referred to as the largest bank debtor in the country. Meanwhile, the Tehran prosecutor has warned the media not to accuse the Islamic Republic of organized corruption in their reports. Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi stated: 'The media should not write in such a way that the system is accused of corruption and create the impression that there is systematic and organized corruption in the Islamic Republic, which claims to fight corruption.' He added, 'In all governments, some form of corruption is seen, which may be less or more; however, suggesting that all branches of the Islamic Republic system are corrupt would be incorrect.' Several Iranian officials and members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly have repeatedly spoken about the spread of corruption in the Islamic Republic, including Eshaq Jahangiri, the First Vice President of Iran, who said on August 18 that corruption 'has grown and reached some high-ranking officials in the country.'