Mohammad Reza Rahimi Granted Leave After Two Weeks in Prison

The Tehran Prosecutor's Office announced on Saturday, March 9, that it has approved the leave of Mohammad Reza Rahimi, the first vice president of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's tenth government. This comes after he was sent to Evin Prison two weeks ago. The Tehran General and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office stated: 'Following the written request of the individual regarding the use of leave due to the long-term and incurable illness of his wife, who is hospitalized, this prosecutor's office has, in accordance with legal regulations, approved his request for a one-week leave.' Two weeks ago, the prosecutor's office announced that Rahimi's prison sentence had been executed and police officers had taken him to Evin Prison. Mohammad Reza Rahimi was sentenced by Branch 11 of the Supreme Court to five years and 91 days in prison, payment of 2 billion and 850 million tomans in restitution, and a fine of 1 billion tomans. While Rahimi was transferred to Evin Prison by police officers on Sunday, he had received a first-class service medal from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the then President of Iran, in June 2013 and was in charge of the Economic Corruption Combat Headquarters. Rahimi is one of the main defendants in the embezzlement case involving Iran Insurance Company. On Tuesday, September 17, he wrote a letter to Sadegh Amoli Larijani, the head of the judiciary, denying his charges and emphasizing that these accusations were related to 'the holding of elections' and that he had presented documents regarding contributions to candidates in the eighth parliamentary elections to the court.