Motahari: The Assembly of Experts is Not Fulfilling Its Duties

Ali Motahari, the Vice President of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stated that the Assembly of Experts is not fulfilling its duties, including oversight of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. He mentioned that some members of this assembly have 'a lot to say,' but due to the fate of previous critics, they refrain from expressing their opinions. In a speech at Isfahan University on Tuesday, March 6, he also emphasized the illegality of the house arrest of the leaders of the Green Movement, stating that if there is to be an apology regarding the events of 2009, 'both the system and the leaders of the protests must apologize.' Motahari criticized the performance of the Assembly of Experts regarding its oversight responsibilities, saying, 'Some think that using the word oversight in relation to the leadership is an insult to the velayat-e faqih; this is not the case.' According to Motahari, some representatives of the Assembly of Experts 'have a lot to say,' but they do not speak out because they have seen the fate of those who have criticized. The Vice President also announced his opposition to the activities of institutions like the 'Executive Headquarters of Imam's Command,' as some of these institutions are exempt from paying taxes and 'disrupt the economy of the country.' According to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Assembly of Experts is the only institution responsible for overseeing the performance of the Supreme Leader and potentially appointing or dismissing him. However, in previous meetings of the Assembly of Experts, no report on oversight of the leader of Iran and the institutions under his supervision has been presented. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani had raised the issue of the Assembly of Experts' oversight over the Supreme Leader in an interview with ILNA on December 13, but these statements provoked strong reactions from several appointees of Ayatollah Khamenei, including Sadegh Amoli Larijani, the head of the judiciary, and Ali Saidi, the representative of the leader in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Sadegh Larijani described the oversight of the Assembly of Experts over the institutions under the leader as 'baseless,' 'incorrect,' and 'illegal expectations and aspirations' that 'have nothing to do with the Constitution.' In this speech, Motahari also stated that Chapter Three of the Constitution regarding the rights of the people, including the prohibition of thought inspection, the prohibition of freedom of assembly, the prohibition of detaining individuals without a judicial order, the presumption of innocence, and the prohibition of torture, 'has been neglected in most cases.' He pointed out that the Supreme National Security Council sometimes 'interferes in the work of the judiciary or restricts the work of the Assembly,' calling the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi without a judicial order and by the council's resolution for a long time unconstitutional. Motahari mentioned that a judicial official had told him that the leaders of the 2009 protests 'have not been punished because they are in a house.' He added, 'In response, I said if that is the case, you come and be imprisoned for 10 days in a house where all the rooms have been bugged and see what it feels like.' The Vice President stated that Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi 'did not have a plan for sedition; these were things we wove ourselves and attributed to them.' He emphasized that they did not want Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, which 'had caused a lot of damage to the country, to continue.' Therefore, he said, 'if there is to be an apology, both the system and the leaders of the protests must apologize.' Motahari has previously called the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi without trial illegal and has demanded their simultaneous trial along with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former president of Iran. On Tuesday, March 6, he wrote a letter to Ahmad Jannati, the head of the Assembly of Experts, asking him to place the issue of 'house arrest' on the agenda of the upcoming Assembly meeting this year and to 'prepare the ground for addressing the accusations of all parties involved in the sedition of 2009.' Hossein Karroubi, the son of Mehdi Karroubi, reported on Thursday, February 10, that Ali Motahari had managed to convince the 'authorities' of the Islamic Republic to meet with the leaders of the protests against the 2009 election results, but no time has yet been set for this meeting. Karroubi had also previously deemed the lifting of the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders before the 2017 presidential election as 'unlikely,' stating that the establishment would not grant this 'privilege' to Hassan Rouhani. Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi, the leaders of the protests against the 2009 presidential election results, have been under house arrest since February 2011, exactly six years ago, without a trial. Recently, thousands of people, including several political, social, and civil activists in Iran, have called for an end to their house arrest in an open letter addressed to the leaders of the three branches of government, members of parliament, and other officials, coinciding with the sixth anniversary of the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi.