Tehran Prosecutor Forms New Legal Case Against Hamid Baghaei

The Tehran prosecutor denied the statements made by Hamid Baghaei, the former executive assistant to the president of Iran, regarding being imprisoned in solitary confinement, the case of Hassan Rouhani's brother, and the 13-month detention of a prisoner without interrogation. According to the state news agency IRNA, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi announced on Thursday, August 5, that Bijan Qasemzadeh, the investigator of Hamid Baghaei's case, has denied the statements made by Baghaei about Hossein Fereydoun. He also stated that Baghaei's claim of being imprisoned in solitary confinement in Ward 209 of Evin Prison, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Intelligence, is "false," according to a letter from this ministry to the Tehran prosecutor's office. Jafari Dolatabadi reported that due to Baghaei's remarks on Wednesday, a new case with new charges has been formed against him, and his previous case will soon be sent to court with an indictment. Hamid Baghaei, shortly after being released on a 20 billion toman bail, called the spokesperson of the judiciary's statements, claiming he did not agree to be transferred to a public cell, "lies" and said, "Mr. Ejei is lying now just as he did when he was in the Ministry of Intelligence." The executive assistant of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government also emphasized, "I did nothing to go to prison. I participated in the elections and wrote someone else's name. We know where you burn and we know you will be overthrown soon." Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the judiciary spokesperson, stated that the judge ordered Baghaei's transfer to a public ward, but he said, "I am very comfortable in this suite and it is better for me to stay here." Baghaei also mentioned that Bijan Qasemzadeh told him that Hossein Fereydoun, Hassan Rouhani's brother, received "60 billion tomans from the former CEO of Bank Mellat to be appointed to this position." Additionally, Baghaei commented on the state of prisons in Iran, stating, "A person in our cell was imprisoned for 13 months without interrogation and was not allowed to make phone calls. Our youth did not shed blood for these corrupt individuals to come to power." The Tehran prosecutor responded to this part of Baghaei's statements by saying that the supervising deputy prosecutor visited this prisoner on Thursday, and based on the reports from the head and supervising deputy prosecutor of the prison, he "had access to visits, medical services, and multiple phone calls with his family during his detention." Previously, Ahmadinejad's associates announced that a bail of 50 billion tomans was set for Hamid Baghaei, but according to reports, he was released on a 20 billion toman bail. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, two days after Baghaei's arrest, described his detention as "illegal" and a "great injustice," calling for his immediate release. In contrast, the Tehran prosecutor's office warned on July 22 against "any unprofessional and uninformed comments" regarding Hamid Baghaei's case. Hamid Baghaei was previously arrested in June 2015 on charges of "embezzlement" and was released in January of the following year.