Mohammad Tosli Becomes Secretary General of the Freedom Movement of Iran

Hashim Sabaghian, Deputy Secretary General and Vice President of the Central Council of the Freedom Movement of Iran, announced in a statement that Mohammad Tosli has been "elected" as the Secretary General of this group. The statement highlighted the passing of Ibrahim Yazdi and his activities within the Freedom Movement of Iran, emphasizing that the council of this group had elected Mohammad Tosli as Secretary General on the 14th of Ordibehesht (May) after Mr. Yazdi's health deteriorated. Mr. Sabaghian stressed that the former Secretary General of the Freedom Movement of Iran pursued "public, peaceful struggles within the framework of the law" during his tenure, and the members of this group continue their "reformist activities." Mohammad Tosli has been the head of the political office of the Freedom Movement of Iran for many years and has been arrested several times in recent years. He is 79 years old and was the first mayor of Tehran after the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Mr. Tosli was accepted to study civil engineering at the University of Tehran in 1956 and was a member of the Islamic Students Association. In 1962, he went to Stuttgart, Germany, to continue his studies and was a member of the Congress of the World Confederation of Iranian Students. According to him, he then went to the United States but traveled to Egypt for armed struggle against the Pahlavi regime in Iran, where he received military training. He was among the companions of Ayatollah Khomeini in Iraq for six months. This member of the Freedom Movement was also arrested before the revolution in 1971 and spent a year in prison. Mr. Tosli's wife, Mina Yazdi, is the sister of Ibrahim Yazdi. Ibrahim Yazdi, the Secretary General of the Freedom Movement of Iran and Foreign Minister of the provisional government, passed away at the age of 86 in Izmir, Turkey, on Sunday evening, September 5. In December 2016, Mr. Yazdi intended to travel to the United States for treatment of a "pancreatic mass," but it was revealed that he was banned from leaving the country based on a judicial order. After that, the Tehran prosecutor's office agreed to his exit from the country for treatment. Following the resolution of the exit ban issue, Mr. Yazdi went to the U.S. Embassy in Turkey, but ultimately, a travel visa was not issued for him. Ibrahim Yazdi was one of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's close associates in Paris before the Iranian Revolution and became a member of the Revolutionary Council after the revolution. Some critics say that Ibrahim Yazdi played a role in the "trial" and mass execution of a group of commanders of the Pahlavi army. According to another narrative, he tried to use his influence to save the lives of some former officials. One of the cases cited against him was a film related to the trial of General Mehdi Rahimi, the last military governor of Tehran, who was among the officers of the Pahlavi army loyal to the Shah. Mr. Yazdi has denied the accusations made against him in this regard and requested the full release of the existing film in an interview in 2005. After the death of Mehdi Bazargan, he became the Secretary General of the Freedom Movement of Iran. He was arrested several times after the protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election. In 2012, Mr. Yazdi was sentenced to eight years in prison and five years of deprivation of social rights by the Revolutionary Court on charges such as "acting against national security" and "spreading falsehoods" and cooperating with the Freedom Movement of Iran. In response to this sentence, he stated that the Revolutionary Court lacked the authority to examine the charges against him. The institutions of the Islamic Republic consider the activities of the Freedom Movement to be "illegal" based on a letter from Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, to Ali Akbar Mohtashami, the then Minister of Interior. The Freedom Movement of Iran has expressed doubts about the legitimacy of this letter and has stated that this group has not been declared "illegal" in any court and its activities are legal. Over the years, the eligibility of members of the Freedom Movement in parliamentary and presidential elections has been repeatedly rejected based on Ayatollah Khomeini's letter. In this context, there were calls for an end to house arrest during Ibrahim Yazdi's funeral.