Protests Against Saeed Mortazavi's 'Bail-Free' Exit from Iran

Saeed Mortazavi, former prosecutor and head of the Social Security Organization, has faced protests and criticism from some representatives and figures following his exit from Iran towards Najaf, Iraq, despite having an ongoing case in the judiciary and being banned from leaving the country. According to various news websites and newspapers in Iran, Mr. Mortazavi left Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran on Thursday evening, December 5, to attend the Arbaeen ceremony in Karbala. In this context, Mostafa Torkhamdani, one of the lawyers in the Social Security case, stated in an interview published on Saturday, December 7, in the newspaper 'Bahar': 'Mortazavi had requested to travel to Karbala in the last court session of the Social Security case, but no one thought this request would be taken seriously by the court since he was banned from leaving the country by the court and the judiciary.' Torkhamdani further noted: 'As far as I remember, the investigator of the case and also Mr. Mohseni Ejei, the esteemed deputy of the judiciary, stated in December 2013 that he was banned from leaving the country.' The issue of Mortazavi's travel ban was first raised in December 2013 when some media outlets quoted the judge of Mortazavi's case stating that 'Mortazavi has been banned from leaving the country,' which was denied a few days later by Saeed Ayubi, one of the lawyers for the former head of the Social Security Organization. However, on January 25, 2014, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the judiciary spokesman, put an end to all these rumors, announcing: 'Regarding the Social Security case, I know he has been banned from leaving the country and he will be summoned soon.' Furthermore, the morning report from this newspaper mentioned that Mr. Mortazavi, in his last interview in Iran, responded to a journalist's question about his case by saying: 'I will give you my answer if you want it in Karbala.' Mortazavi's exit from Iran comes while he is still the primary accused in the Social Security case at Branch 1057 of the Criminal Court 2, presided over by Judge Heydari. Additionally, other parts of Mortazavi's cases with three accusations are still ongoing in various branches of the Islamic Revolutionary Court. Moreover, he has been sentenced to one year in prison, with six months suspended, and the other six months has yet to be enforced. Mortazavi's exit from Iran without bail has been noted by Mojtaba Nazari, a lawyer for the Social Security Organization, who stated that Mortazavi left Iran without posting bail. Nazari said in an interview with the newspaper 'Bahar': 'In the last court session, Mr. Mortazavi unfortunately raised the request to travel to Karbala. I say unfortunately because a person who still has 16 volumes of cases should not leave the jurisdiction of the judiciary.' When asked if Mortazavi had submitted bail to the judiciary for his trip to Karbala, he stated that 'Mr. Mortazavi has posted bail of over 8 billion tomans to the court, which his wife provided two of her apartments as bail for him, but these bails are not related to his trip to Karbala since this issue was raised in the last court session and was not pursued further.' A representative: Mortazavi is a special and extralegal individual. Meanwhile, the representative of Abadan in the ninth parliament stated that Mortazavi has been banned from leaving the country due to economic charges and said that 'essentially Mortazavi has shown in recent years that he is a special and extralegal individual.' Hossein Dehdashti, the Abadan representative, said on Saturday in an interview with the House of Representatives news agency, referring to Mortazavi's exit from Iran: 'As far as I know, Mortazavi has been banned from leaving due to economic charges and naturally could not leave the country; now it is unclear how and on what basis he has exited.' The Abadan representative further stated: 'Essentially, Mortazavi has shown in recent years that he is a special and extralegal individual, to the extent that he has appeared in his trials with bodyguards and behaves as he wishes; on the other hand, considering Mortazavi's exit from the country, the judiciary, the Ministry of Interior, and security agencies must be accountable for this issue.' Mr. Dehdashti also mentioned the possibility of Mortazavi fleeing to European countries or Canada, saying: 'It is still unclear what his plans and procedures are, but certainly, a suspect in economic crimes should not be allowed to exit the country, as these issues create a kind of distrust in the country.' According to the member of the Energy Commission of the parliament, 'the Islamic Consultative Assembly will definitely pursue the case of Mortazavi's charges and his exit from the country, and certainly, questions will be raised from the relevant authorities in this regard.' Saeed Mortazavi has been tried in the Kahrizak detention center case as an accused, sentenced to permanent dismissal from judicial services and five years of dismissal from public services for 'illegal detention.' He was also sentenced to one year in prison and 'restitution of property' in the Social Security case. Mortazavi has been accused in several other cases, and his name was mentioned during the trial of Babak Zanjani. Judicial officials of the Islamic Republic have yet to respond to Mortazavi's exit from the country.