Prosecutor's Office to Motahari: How long must we endure the interference of people like you in judicial cases?

The Tehran Prosecutor's Office, while rejecting the statements of Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, regarding the "inappropriate detention" of individuals including journalists, announced, "How long must judges and the judiciary endure the interferences of people like Mr. Motahari in judicial cases?" According to ISNA news agency, the public relations office of the Tehran Prosecutor's Office reacted on Tuesday, October 10, to Mr. Motahari's note stating, "How long must we, as representatives of the families of detainees, be their refuge?" The Prosecutor's Office emphasized, "How long must judges and the judiciary tolerate the interferences of people like Mr. Motahari in judicial cases?" The Tehran Prosecutor's Office also questioned how a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, who should serve as a model in adhering to laws, has become a refuge for certain accused and convicted individuals. In a note published in the Tuesday edition of Etemad newspaper, Ali Motahari referred to the "inappropriate detention" of individuals, including journalists, stating, "How long must we, especially the representatives of Tehran, be the refuge for the families of these detainees and repeatedly be approached by them while we can do little?" The announcement from the Tehran Prosecutor's Office comes at a time when many current and former parliament members believe that this institution has the right to oversee all entities, including the judiciary. According to Article 76 of the Constitution, the Islamic Consultative Assembly has the right to investigate and scrutinize "in all matters of the country." Article 90 of the Constitution also states that anyone who has a complaint about the operation of the parliament, government, or judiciary can submit their complaint in writing to the parliament. The parliament is obliged to address these complaints and provide a "sufficient response," and in cases related to the government or judiciary, it must "seek adequate responses from them and announce the results in a timely manner, and in matters concerning the public, inform the public." However, Iranian judicial officials have previously stated that this branch is only accountable to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. Sadegh Larijani, the head of Iran's judiciary, has even rejected the oversight of the Assembly of Experts over the Supreme Leader and the institutions under his supervision, stating in 2015 that Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's comments about the oversight of the Assembly of Experts over the institutions under the Supreme Leader were "baseless," "incorrect," and "illegal expectations and aspirations" that, according to him, "have no relation to the Constitution." Criticisms regarding the judiciary's treatment of political prisoners include "detaining individuals without presenting an arrest warrant," "interrogation before informing of charges," "prolonged temporary detention without a trial," "issuing rulings under the orders of security agencies," and "torturing prisoners." Meanwhile, Ali Motahari, referring to the detention of Sasan Aghaei, the deputy editor of Etemad newspaper, stated that a journalist "remains in solitary confinement for a long time against the law in the hope of making a confession under psychological and physical pressure, rather than being detained after there are solid reasons and documents against him." The Tehran Prosecutor's Office has rejected Mr. Motahari's statements in this regard but did not clarify what charges the journalist was detained on. Sasan Aghaei was arrested on August 12 and has been held in solitary confinement in Ward 241 of Evin Prison, which belongs to the judiciary's intelligence protection, since that date. Meanwhile, some websites have reported, citing individuals close to Sasan Aghaei, that interrogators have stated that the reason for the detention of this journalist was solely the confessions of other individuals against him. Sasan Aghaei's mother stated in an interview with Etemad newspaper on August 22 that her son "strongly stated in the prosecutor's office that he had not committed any illegal act." The Tehran Prosecutor's Office also rejected Ali Motahari's claims that Hengameh Shahidi was "released from prison after a hunger strike," stating that she "did not go on a hunger strike but was released after preliminary investigations and the issuance of a bail acceptance order." The announcement stated that Ms. Shahidi is "under judicial prosecution based on a private complaint and a report from the Ministry of Intelligence." Hengameh Shahidi's Instagram account announced after her release on September 28 that this political activist and journalist was "released after six months of temporary detention in solitary confinement and 15 days of hunger strike (8 days of dry hunger strike and 7 days of wet hunger strike)." In his note, Mr. Motahari also indirectly asked the head of the judiciary to personally appear before journalists or students "every once in a while" after commenting on "global policy, the JCPOA, and Middle Eastern issues" to answer their various questions. Mr. Motahari's note was written in response to the criticisms of the Iranian President regarding the judiciary and the response of the head of this branch. Hassan Rouhani stated on October 7 among a group of students at Tehran University that "some agencies may be idle and summon individuals to create jobs for themselves." Two days later, the head of the judiciary stated that this agency does not summon individuals "out of idleness" and that the existence of unemployment in the country is due to "focusing on the JCPOA" over the past four years. Hassan Rouhani and Sadegh Larijani have previously clashed over the investment situation in Iran and the summoning of some investors by the judiciary.