Rouhani: The People Do Not Accept Those Who Only Know Executions and Prisons

Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, said on Monday, May 7, "The people of Iran declare that they do not accept those who have only known executions and prisons for 38 years." According to the news agencies ISNA and ILNA, Mr. Rouhani made these remarks at an election rally in the city of Hamadan and once again invited the people to participate in the presidential election on May 29. These recent remarks by Hassan Rouhani, made during the heat of the election campaigns, may refer to Ebrahim Raisi, the conservative candidate for the presidential election. Ebrahim Raisi has held judicial positions since the early years of the 1979 Revolution, including Attorney General and First Deputy of the Judiciary. He, along with several others including Mostafa Pourmohammadi, the Minister of Justice in Rouhani's government, was severely criticized by Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the then-deputy leader of the Islamic Republic, in 1988 for issuing death sentences for political prisoners. At that time, Ebrahim Raisi was a member of the decision-making committee for the executions of the 1980s. Ayatollah Montazeri described the actions of this committee as 'criminal.' Mr. Raisi is also the prosecutor of the Special Court for Clergy, the same court that sentenced the son of Ayatollah Montazeri to 21 years in prison for releasing an audio file of his statements to the decision-making committee regarding the executions, of which six years are enforceable. Ahmad Montazeri previously referred to Ebrahim Raisi's candidacy in the presidential election as 'a joke' and 'an insult to the Iranian people.' On Sunday, May 6, Hassan Rouhani also accused his conservative rivals in the election of having 'cut tongues and sewn mouths shut,' telling them, 'Do not speak of freedom, for freedom is ashamed.' According to the Iranian Labor News Agency, ILNA, this presidential candidate added, 'Those who cut tongues and sewed mouths shut speak of freedom of expression and criticism.' He further stated, 'What you have issued over the years has been the word prohibition; prohibition of pen and prohibition of image. Please do not speak of freedom, for freedom is ashamed.' Mr. Rouhani emphasized, 'Do not speak of criticism, for you work in an institution that no one dares to criticize even once.' These remarks come at a time when critics of Hassan Rouhani refer to his statements regarding the student protests in July 1999. Among them, the Fars News Agency published Mr. Rouhani's complete statements from when he was the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council in 2013. He had said, 'Fortunately, all branches of the system, officials of all powers unanimously agree on a decisive and revolutionary response to these opportunistic elements, and the judiciary will perform its legal, religious, national, and revolutionary duties well in the coming days.'