Tehran Prosecutor Denies Acceptance of Mehdi Hashemi's Request for Retrial

The Tehran prosecutor dismissed reports attributed to Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani regarding the acceptance of Mehdi Hashemi's retrial request by the Supreme Court as "false". According to Mehr News Agency, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi stated on Wednesday, October 5, that "based on the follow-ups and the announcement of the President of the Supreme Court, the convicted party has submitted a request for retrial to the Supreme Court, but it has not been accepted yet". On Tuesday, several news websites, including the Alef website close to Ahmad Tavakoli, reported that Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani had mentioned in recent meetings with journalists that the retrial of Mehdi Hashemi's case would be reviewed in another court. Furthermore, according to the 'Rooz No' website, Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani stated: "Fortunately, the retrial of Mehdi's case has been approved, and currently, this case is progressing well". Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai, Mehdi Hashemi's lawyer, had reported last year that a request for retrial had been submitted to the Supreme Court. However, Mr. Alizadeh Tabatabai announced in August of last year that the retrial request had been withdrawn. He stated: "The Supreme Court has more than 40 branches, and unfortunately, one of the websites falsely wrote that we wanted our request to go to a specific branch; whereas we did not want the retrial request to go to a special branch, a branch that if it went, the ruling would be confirmed, which is why we withdrew the retrial request". Since then, no new reports have emerged regarding a renewed request for retrial in Mehdi Hashemi's case. Mehdi Hashemi, the son of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran, entered Evin Prison on Sunday, August 18, to serve his 10-year prison sentence. Mehdi Hashemi was charged upon his return to Iran at the airport on October 24, 2012, and was arrested after presenting himself to the prosecutor's office. He was released on bail on December 17, 2012, after nearly three months in detention. Ultimately, after several court sessions, his sentence was issued, and Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i, the first deputy of the judiciary, announced on June 10, 2015, that Mehdi Hashemi's sentence had been confirmed and that "the highest punishment of 10 years in prison would be enforced against him". The handling of Mehdi Hashemi's case has repeatedly stirred controversy in Iranian media, and the first deputy of the judiciary hinted during Friday prayers on July 6, 2015, that a "powerful individual" was threatening the judiciary. While some Iranian parliament members and conservative media have accused Mehdi Hashemi of involvement in economic corruption related to the Statoil and Karsan contracts, Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai, Mehdi Hashemi's lawyer, stated that the "main issue" of his client's case is Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani himself, not Mehdi Hashemi. Meanwhile, Mostafa Tajzadeh, a jailed member of the Participation Front, wrote in a letter to Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on August 26, 2014, referring to Mehdi Hashemi's trial, that "the problem of the gentlemen is more about you than Mr. Mehdi Hashemi". Iffat Marashi, Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani's mother, also described the Islamic Republic's court ruling against her son on Sunday, June 21, 2015, as "fraud and deceit".