Motahari: Some are making decisions behind the scenes and are accountable to no one

The Deputy Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly criticized the imposition of restrictions against political activists in Iran once again, stating: "It is unacceptable for a few to make decisions behind the scenes and be accountable to no one." Ali Motahari expressed these remarks in response to comments made on October 19 by Hossein Nejat, the deputy head of the IRGC Intelligence, who said that the new restrictions on Mohammad Khatami, the former President of Iran, are "the same as those approved in 2010 and are nothing new." On Friday, October 20, the Deputy Speaker of the Iranian Parliament expressed doubt about the existence of a National Security Council resolution to impose restrictions against Mr. Khatami, while emphasizing that even if such a resolution exists, "the National Security Council cannot replace the judiciary and determine and execute punishment for an accused person." He referred to the statements of the IRGC Intelligence deputy head, saying, "It would be good for the text of the resolution in question to be made public. It is also necessary to publish the text of the letter that was recently shown to Mr. Khatami to clarify whether new restrictions have been imposed or not." Mr. Motahari reported that security agents had prevented Mohammad Khatami from attending a meeting he had previously participated in. According to a report published by the 'Kaleme' website, close to Mir Hossein Mousavi, security agents on Wednesday, October 18, had once again prevented him from leaving his home. The agents informed Mr. Khatami that they had "orders to prevent his departure" from home and participation in an event he was supposed to attend. This meeting was apparently scheduled to be held at the Baran Foundation. Mr. Motahari further stated that such restrictions are "against Articles 32 to 37 of the Constitution" and emphasized: "It is unacceptable for a few to make decisions behind the scenes and occasionally announce the revelation of a verse and be accountable to no one, neither to the Parliament nor directly to the people." He added: "We only know that some unknown individuals determine the interests of the system and place anyone they deem fit under house arrest and restrictions, and whenever they see fit, for example, close to their death, they release them." In another part of his remarks on October 19, Hossein Nejat called for the so-called "repentance" of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi, leaders who protested the results of the 2009 elections, adding: "If these individuals repent and condemn the sedition, the system will take them aboard the rescue ship." Ali Motahari rejected this part of the IRGC Intelligence deputy head's remarks, stating that "repentance cannot be one-sided. If there is to be repentance, both those who prepared the ground for the sedition and gathered the fuel for it must repent, as well as those who ignited it." It seems his reference is to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former President of Iran, whom Mr. Motahari had previously called for trial due to his role in the unrest of 2009. The Deputy Speaker of the Iranian Parliament added in his remarks: "As long as you blame one side and turn a blind eye to the mistakes of the other side, this issue will not be resolved because people do not feel justice and fairness, and their conscience will not be at ease." He also questioned: "What is the insistence on repentance? Someone may have made a mistake but believes they have not made a mistake, and naturally, they will not repent. If these individuals are released after seven years of heavy house arrest without repentance, what is the problem?" Mousavi, Rahnavard, and Karroubi have been under house arrest since 2010, and there has been no change in their situation. Hassan Rouhani, the Islamic Republic's President, promised during the 2013 and 2017 election campaigns that he would resolve this issue, yet there are no signs of his efforts or their success.