Reactions to Mahdi Hashemi's Verdict in Newspapers

"The issuance of a verdict" by Mohammad Mogheiseh, head of Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, in the case of Mahdi Hashemi, son of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, has received widespread coverage in Iranian newspapers on Tuesday. Newspapers close to various factions of the principlists welcomed the issuance of this verdict. The Vatan-e-Emruz newspaper, close to the Stability Front, described it as a "gift of justice." The Siyasat-e-Rooz newspaper used the headline "The Verdict of the Controversial International Case of the Son of the Influential Figure," while the Resalat newspaper dedicated its front page to Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i and quoted the spokesperson of the judiciary as saying: "M-H has been sentenced to imprisonment, a fine, and disqualification." Kayhan also referred to Mahdi Hashemi using the initials and published the statements of the judiciary spokesperson. Most newspapers close to the principlists also used the abbreviation "M-H" for Mahdi Hashemi, while almost all newspapers close to the reformists or supporters of the eleventh government, including Shahrvand, Iran, Shargh, Arman, Qanoon, and Jomhouri Eslami, used the full name "Mahdi Hashemi" in their headlines. The Etemad newspaper is one of the few in this group that used the abbreviation "M-H" in its headline, stating: "M-H has been sentenced to imprisonment." The Aftab Yazd newspaper also covered the issuance of the verdict by Mohammad Mogheiseh, head of Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, with the headline "The Issuance of Mahdi Hashemi's Initial Verdict." The Shargh newspaper dedicated its front page to Mahdi Hashemi, stating: "Hashemi's verdict has been issued." This newspaper implicitly emphasized the political background of Mahdi Hashemi's case, noting that "the beginning of Mahdi Hashemi's case dates back to the 2009 presidential elections," although "his name had appeared in an oil case before that." The Abrar newspaper also dedicated its front page to the issuance of Mahdi Hashemi's verdict, stating: "Mahdi Hashemi has been sentenced to a total of 15 years in prison, restitution, a fine, and disqualification." The Etemad newspaper reported an attack on Ali Motahari's lawyer in Shiraz, stating: "After Motahari, it was the turn of his lawyer." This newspaper simultaneously reported on implicit support from Asadollah Imani, the Friday prayer leader of Shiraz, for the attack on Motahari, quoting him as saying: "If you do not maintain your boundaries, your boundaries will not be maintained" and "when a representative in the parliament is confronted with a punch during a speech due to colleagues' warnings, he should expect that some people will confront him with punches in society" and "if you sow the wind, you will reap the storm." The Etemad newspaper also dedicated its front page to the "last nuclear trip of 93," questioning: "Will political understanding in Lausanne end the exhausting nuclear negotiations?" According to this newspaper, "the last round of negotiations between Iran and the 1+5 began this year in Lausanne, Switzerland," and "on the first day of these negotiations, Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, faced off against Ernest Moniz, the U.S. Secretary of Energy." The Afkar newspaper also described "Lausanne" as the "breathtaking twist of negotiations" in its front page. The Donya-e-Eqtesad and Shahrvand newspapers reported that after various scenarios were proposed regarding how to identify "wealthy individuals to be removed from the subsidy list" and to reform the cash subsidy payment method by the government, members of parliament introduced four criteria: "climatic conditions," "household size," "place of residence," and "income level" to identify affluent segments of society to the government. The Arman newspaper published an interview with Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi, the Minister of Health, regarding the performance and criticisms directed at this ministry, as well as the obstacles to public health, quoting him as saying: "The interference we have is nowhere else." Qazizadeh Hashemi discussed eye surgery and examinations of "the confined," namely Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi, stating that during Mousavi's premiership, "we had a working period, and then both he and his wife consulted me regarding their eyes. The other individual [Mehdi Karroubi] did the same. Therefore, it is not related to the period of ministry. Over the years, if they had eye problems, I would examine them. After they decided to undergo surgery, they requested me to perform it, and I agreed." Abdolreza Davari, a close associate of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, also stated in an interview with the Qanoon newspaper: "In the past year, we have witnessed the return of Hezbollah towards Dr. Ahmadinejad" and "principlists should pray and strive for Ahmadinejad to be convinced to enter the competition in 2016." According to the newspaper, Qanoon quoted Abdolreza Davari regarding Mohammad Reza Rahimi's case, stating that "Ahmadinejad remained silent due to Rahimi's services," and regarding Babak Zanjani's case, emphasized that "for now, it is not in the interest of the revolution, the system, and the country to speak about Babak Zanjani's case and reveal the realities behind the scenes. If the dimensions of Babak Zanjani's case are opened and clarified, you will see that none of the accusations made against the ninth and tenth governments are related, and other agencies are to blame." Shargh: "Hashemi's verdict has been issued." The Shargh newspaper, while dedicating its front page to Mahdi Hashemi, stated: "Hashemi's verdict has been issued." According to this newspaper, "Mahdi Hashemi's verdict was finally issued after 27 hearings and numerous controversies and uproars from the principlists who were eager for its issuance," and "the spokesperson of the judiciary stated that 'M-H' has been sentenced to imprisonment, a fine, restitution, and disqualification." Shargh also reported that Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i, the spokesperson of the judiciary, said: "He has been sentenced to imprisonment for security issues and has 20 days to appeal, and if he does not appeal, the verdict will be considered final." This newspaper pointed out that on Sunday, "unofficial news regarding a 15-year prison sentence for Mahdi Hashemi was published, which the spokesperson's office did not confirm," and quoted Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai, Mahdi Hashemi's lawyer, as saying: "We have not yet received any notification of the verdict." The Shargh newspaper implicitly emphasized the political background of Mahdi Hashemi's case, noting that "the beginning of Mahdi Hashemi's case dates back to the 2009 presidential elections; on the eve of the 2009 presidential elections, Mahdi Hashemi joined Mir Hossein Mousavi's election campaign, but two months after the election, as the head of the board of trustees of Azad University, he traveled abroad to visit and oversee the offices and branches of Azad University, which was accompanied by a media uproar from Ahmadinejad's supporters and a response from the board of trustees of Azad University." This newspaper also reminded that "before that, Mahdi Hashemi's name had appeared in an oil case. It was reported that in 2007, the CEO and several employees of the Total oil company were arrested by French judicial authorities for allegedly paying about 60 million euros in bribes to Iranian officials for participating in the construction of the South Pars gas field, and Mahdi Hashemi's name was mentioned as someone who received part of this amount," while "Total had won the tender to construct this gas field in 1997 along with Gazprom from Russia and Petronas from Malaysia." In another section of this report titled "A Defendant Returns," it was recalled that "Mahdi Hashemi" returned to Iran on a Dubai-Tehran flight at 10 AM on October 24, 2012. At the airport, Mohsen, Yaser, and Fatemeh Hashemi welcomed him. The Tehran prosecutor's representative, present at the airport, handed him a summons to appear at the Tehran prosecutor's office, and he was arrested there by the prosecutor's representative but promised to present himself to the prosecutor's office within 24 hours. The next day, on October 25, he went to the security prosecutor's office but was sent to Evin Prison with a temporary arrest warrant issued later that day, which lasted for two months and 23 days, and he was finally released on December 16, 2012, after posting a bail of 10 billion tomans." Shargh also referenced the speeches of Hamid Rasai and Ahmad Tavakoli in parliament regarding Mahdi Hashemi and the Statoil case, which provoked a response from Mahdi Hashemi that was read in parliament according to the law. This newspaper recalled that Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, in his interview with Shargh last week regarding his son's case in the event of a verdict being issued, stated: "I will protest, but I will not fight. If the judge reaches a verdict, I have nothing to say because it is the law, and if the judge does not reach a verdict and gives orders, naturally, anyone, regardless of who they are, will protest." Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani implicitly confirmed that he had spoken with Ali Khamenei about his son's trial, stating to the Shargh newspaper: "I have told the leadership and the head of the judiciary from the beginning. I do not know the judge and have never seen him. I told them that if Mahdi has committed a crime, my preference is that he sees his punishment in this world and does not fall into the afterlife." Shargh quoted Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as saying: "My message to all of them is not to give orders from above, and if you do, it is against judicial and religious principles." The Vatan-e-Emruz newspaper welcomed the issuance of Mahdi Hashemi's verdict and described it as a "gift of justice" in its front page on Tuesday, stating: "After years of public anticipation, the verdict for the well-known economic defendant has been issued, and M-H has been sentenced to 15 years in prison and restitution." This newspaper, close to the Stability Front, wrote: "Finally, as promised by the judiciary, the verdict for 'M-H,' the controversial son, has been issued. The verdict, according to the Deputy Head of the Judiciary, includes imprisonment, a fine, and disqualification, and according to the judiciary spokesperson, the crimes for which 'M-H' has been sentenced include embezzlement, fraud, bribery, and security issues." According to the Vatan-e-Emruz newspaper, Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i, the Deputy Head and spokesperson of the judiciary, stated in an interview with the news network that "a judicial verdict has been issued for 'M-H' and warnings were issued to the defendant's lawyers last Wednesday to be present in court for the personal notification of the verdict," but "the verdict is not final and is subject to appeal, so I have a legal excuse for not announcing its contents." This newspaper also reported that "some sources indicate that the defendant has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. Accordingly, the controversial son has been sentenced to this number of years for three charges, which separately include 7, 5, and 3 years." This newspaper emphasized that "restitution, a fine, and disqualification" are also part of the verdict issued against Mahdi Hashemi, stating that "Vatan-e-Emruz's follow-ups indicate that 7 years of 'M-H's prison sentence is due to bribery. Economic charges are the most significant aspect of 'M-H's judicial case. Over the years, there have always been accusations and claims regarding this influential figure's role in economic matters. Therefore, a significant portion of his case file consists of these economic allegations," and "there is also a considerable amount regarding restitution." The Etemad newspaper reported on an attack on Ali Motahari's lawyer in Shiraz, stating: "After Motahari, it was the turn of his lawyer." This newspaper simultaneously reported on implicit support from Asadollah Imani, the Friday prayer leader of Shiraz, for the attack on Motahari, quoting him as saying: "If you do not maintain your boundaries, your boundaries will not be maintained" and "when a representative in the parliament is confronted with a punch during a speech due to colleagues' warnings, he should expect that some people will confront him with punches in society" and "if you sow the wind, you will reap the storm." According to this newspaper, the scope of the attack on Ali Motahari last Tuesday in Shiraz also extended to his lawyer on Sunday. A group of unidentified individuals vandalized Mustafa Torkhamdani's car, who had traveled to Shiraz to follow up on Ali Motahari's complaint, with bricks and stones and wrote on it with spray paint: "First warning." The Etemad newspaper quoted Mustafa Torkhamdani, Ali Motahari's lawyer, as saying: "I traveled to Shiraz on Friday to follow up on the case, and on Sunday night, I went to visit the shrine of Seyyed Alaeddin Hossein, and upon returning, I found my car vandalized with bricks, and its windows were completely shattered, and someone had written on my car with spray paint: 'First warning.'" Ali Motahari's lawyer stated that "after this incident, I immediately informed the security authorities of Fars province, and the police are currently investigating the matter with my statements, so I will remain in Shiraz until this case is resolved." The Etemad newspaper also reported that Mustafa Torkhamdani stated that "upon our complaint being filed in the Shiraz public prosecutor's office on Saturday, the prosecutor issued a special order to investigate the events in Shiraz and identify the attackers against Ali Motahari. I witnessed that the governor of Fars, based on a mission given to him by the Minister of Interior, made relentless efforts in multiple meetings with security and law enforcement officials in the province to identify the perpetrators of this incident, during which several of these offenders were identified and reported to the Shiraz prosecutor." The Etemad newspaper simultaneously reported that Hossein Fereydoun, brother and special assistant to Hassan Rouhani, "visited Ali Motahari's home on behalf of the President of the Islamic Republic to express condolences regarding the attack in Shiraz."