Sadegh Amoli Larijani: Ahmadinejad Did Not Dare to Yell at Me

Sadegh Amoli Larijani on Wednesday, December 13, strongly criticized recent statements made by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former president, and his associates against the judiciary, calling them the instigators of a 'new sedition.' The head of the judiciary of the Islamic Republic dedicated a significant portion of his remarks during a meeting with student organizations aligned with conservatives to responding to accusations from Ahmadinejad, Hamid Bakai, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, and other close associates of the former president. He accused Ahmadinejad of 'lying' and stated that the former president never yelled at him regarding the case of Sattar Beheshti, a blogger who died in prison, because, according to Amoli Larijani, Ahmadinejad 'did not have the courage' to do so. Ahmadinejad had recently claimed that he yelled at Sadegh Larijani in the National Security Council over the Beheshti case. According to the Mizan news agency, Amoli Larijani defended the judiciary's performance, accusing Ahmadinejad and his associates of weakening the judiciary and thus undermining the system. He also stated that a significant portion of the 'loss of trust' in the judiciary 'stems from the planning and actions of Western intelligence and security services.' The head of Iran's judiciary referred to Ahmadinejad's statements and those of his associates, saying: 'These individuals maliciously claim that our children are not spies and then assert that we have not made any accusations, we have only made a negative statement.' Sadegh Larijani remarked: 'This same person, in a meeting of the Expediency Discernment Council, asks the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council about the spying of a certain girl. The secretary responds that this matter is fundamentally a lie. He tells him that you are not informed, we have precise information that she is detained and we know the exact address of her detention. Can a person lie this much and stray from the path of fairness and piety?' Previously, one foreign media outlet had reported that the daughter of the head of the judiciary was detained for espionage, which Ahmadinejad and his associates implicitly confirmed. Sadegh Larijani also spoke about his two brothers, Fazel and Mohammad Javad. He said: 'With the film they had of Fazel Larijani, they wanted to intimidate the head of the judiciary.' Mahmoud Ahmadinejad played this film in the parliament during the impeachment of the Minister of Labor. Sadegh Larijani commented on Mohammad Javad Larijani, who has been accused of 'land grabbing,' stating that this case is ongoing and the judge, according to him, will act independently. The head of the judiciary further accused Ahmadinejad and his associates of 'sedition,' stating: 'The actions of those currently making various accusations against the judiciary and blackening its image are a form of sedition... The leaders of the sedition said they did not accept the elections and the Guardian Council; these individuals also say they do not accept the judiciary. They called for chaos, and these people are also seeking to create a narrative and chaos through sit-ins.' Hamid Bakai and several former officials of Ahmadinejad's government had staged a sit-in protest against the judiciary at the Shah Abdol Azim shrine in Rey city. Meanwhile, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a letter to the representative of Isfahan in the Assembly of Experts, reiterated his criticisms of the judiciary and protested the handling of Hamid Bakai's case, writing: '...today the Supreme Court, the prosecutor, the courts, and even the disciplinary court for judges, which is responsible for addressing the misconduct of judicial officials, are all appointed by the head of the judiciary and are under his command; this means that complaints against judicial officials must be made to themselves.' The former president of Iran had also written in a letter to Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, in November of this year: 'Public trust in the honesty and ability of some senior managers and various agencies to manage crises and lead the country out of these conditions has long crossed red lines.' Ali Motahari, the deputy speaker of parliament and a critic of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, recently stated that some of Ahmadinejad's criticisms of the judiciary are correct. Ali Motahari said: '...sometimes we see that officials of the judiciary consider mere criticism as an insult to senior officials of the country and immediately take action to file a case against the critic.' In this context, Sadegh Larijani called Ahmadinejad's statements against the judiciary 'the highest betrayal.'