Mohseni Ejei: Permanent Dismissal of Saeed Mortazavi from Judicial Position Confirmed

Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the first deputy of the judiciary, stated that the Supreme Court has confirmed the conviction of Saeed Mortazavi, the former prosecutor of Tehran, in the Kahrizak case, which involved his permanent dismissal. Fars News Agency also reported on the permanent dismissal of Saeed Mortazavi from judicial positions. According to Tasnim, the first deputy of the judiciary said regarding the issued ruling about Saeed Mortazavi: 'I am not aware of the details of this ruling, but as far as I know, the conviction of Saeed Mortazavi, which related to dismissals, has been confirmed.' Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei addressed claims that 'the criminal court cannot issue a dismissal ruling for violating judges,' stating, 'No, that is not the case, because criminal rulings explicitly mention the issuance of dismissal orders.' In this context, Fars News reported: 'Based on the confirmation from the Supreme Court, Saeed Mortazavi, the former public and revolutionary prosecutor of Tehran, has been permanently dismissed from holding judicial positions.' The report added: 'According to this ruling, Saeed Mortazavi will also be dismissed from holding government positions for five years.' The case of Saeed Mortazavi, which led to a ruling in Branch 76 of the Tehran Criminal Court, had been pending confirmation in Branch 9 of the Supreme Court for two years. This case pertains to the actions of Saeed Mortazavi in the Kahrizak incident. However, in recent weeks, this case was referred to Branch 38 of the Supreme Court. The former prosecutor of Tehran stated on November 13 regarding the change of the branch handling his case to Tasnim: 'This case was taken contrary to the law from Branch 9 of the Supreme Court after two years of proceedings and was referred back to Branch 38 of the Supreme Court for reconsideration, which is a rare and unprecedented occurrence in the Supreme Court, and the following issues are clearly evident as matters contrary to custom, law, and the sacred Islamic law.' Saeed Mortazavi added: 'As the former prosecutor of Tehran, deputy prosecutor, and special security prosecutor, recently after two years of proceedings in Branch 9 of the Supreme Court, this case was taken from that branch and referred to Branch 38 of the Supreme Court, and based on what I have heard, a retired judge has been assigned to confirm our conviction within a week or two.' Regarding the ruling process in the Kahrizak case, he stated: 'After the conviction of judges to permanent dismissal from judicial services and a five-year dismissal from administrative services for participating in the illegal detention of three individuals arrested during the protests of July 9, 2009, I and other special security judges appealed the ruling of Branch 76 of the provincial criminal court.' Mohsen Rouh-al-Amini, Mohammad Kamrani, and Amir Javadi Far were three young men who lost their lives in the Kahrizak detention center due to torture and psychological pressure following the protests of 2009 against the presidential election results. Saeed Mortazavi is named as the main accused in the case regarding the deaths of these three young men in the Kahrizak detention center. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, after dismissing Saeed Mortazavi from the judiciary, initially appointed him as the head of the Anti-Smuggling of Goods and Currency Organization and then as the head of the Social Security Organization. Mortazavi's appointment as the head of the Social Security Organization led to protests from members of parliament. However, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did not accept Mortazavi's dismissal. This issue prompted the parliament to consider the impeachment of Abdolreza Sheikh-al-Islami, the Minister of Labor in Ahmadinejad's government, and on February 4, 2013, the parliament voted 'no confidence' against him. Peyman Haj Mahmoud Attar, a lawyer, stated in early August that Saeed Mortazavi has ten open cases in the Government Employees Prosecutor's Office. He, himself a complainant against Mortazavi regarding the Abbas Palizdar case and 'violations' of the Social Security Organization, requested that the cases against Mr. Mortazavi, some of which date back about five years, be addressed. This lawyer identified the Abbas Palizdar complaint, the Kahrizak detention center case, the complaint against Fazel Larijani, and the complaint from the parliamentary investigation and inspection commission against the Social Security Organization as among the open cases against Saeed Mortazavi.