The Attorney General of the Islamic Republic Announces Issuance of Over 37,000 Cards for 'Judicial Agents'

Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the Attorney General of the country, announced in an interview with the Mizan news agency that 'Judicial Authority Cards' have been issued for 37,493 individuals classified as 'judicial agents'. The Attorney General also mentioned the discovery of over 24,000 'suspicious gambling accounts' and warnings issued to banks through the Central Bank, stating: 'More than 30,000 bank accounts related to gambling and betting have been discovered and blocked.' According to the Islamic Republic's Code of Criminal Procedure, a judicial agent is a person who operates 'under the training and supervision of the prosecutor' and within the legal framework in cases such as crime detection, prosecution of suspects, and serving judicial documents. Trained commanders and agents are examples of 'general agents', while prison heads and deputies, who act within the limits of specific laws, are considered 'special agents'. The judicial agent card contains 'identity details, a photo, and the area of activity of the judicial agent', and under this card, the agent can perform their legal duties and powers. The conditions for obtaining cards for the Basij and IRGC agents, in addition to being 'trustworthy' and reliable, include completing training courses that must be conducted by the prosecutor's office. Recently, Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i, the head of the judiciary, issued a directive on 'how to exercise leadership and oversight of judicial authorities over judicial agents', emphasizing the formation of a 'special oversight committee'. In that directive, which was approved on June 6 but published on June 22, it was stated that to prevent interference in affairs, a representative from 'special and security agents' would be introduced as a liaison to follow up on all judicial matters and 'legal requests from agents' through them. The appointment of representatives for agents and their targeted organization comes amid decades of interference and influence of agents in political cases, which has faced protests from many prominent figures. According to the report, the directive from a few weeks ago by the head of the judiciary stated that in order to properly implement judicial orders and to create greater coordination and synergy among agents for 'detecting conspiracies, preventing enemy infiltration, and identifying organized crime groups', a 'commission' would be formed with the membership of the Attorney General, the head of the Protection and Information Center of the judiciary, the head of the judiciary organization of the armed forces, the Minister of Intelligence, the Commander of the Police, and the head of the IRGC Intelligence Organization. The emphasis on detecting conspiracies and identifying organized crime groups in the formation of this 'commission' seems to be related to the joint statement by the Ministry of Intelligence and the IRGC Intelligence Organization on October 28, 2022, during the peak of last year's protests. According to the laws of the Islamic Republic, special agents are those whose qualifications and powers are limited to specific crimes, unlike general agents, and they do not have the right to intervene in matters outside those crimes. Examples of these agents include personnel from the Ministry of Intelligence and the IRGC Intelligence Organization in the areas of 'preventing and combating corruption and disruption of economic security, organized crimes against security, terrorist actions, and security threats', as well as personnel from the Basij Resistance Force of the IRGC. Said Dehqan: 'According to the law, agents must work under the supervision of judicial authorities, but in Iran, it is the opposite.' Disputes over Ebrahim Raisi's role in the return of 'morality police' to the streets. Mohseni Eje'i's directive for oversight of judicial agents; a special 'commission' is formed. Proposal by Naghdi Ali, a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly: Punishment of 'flogging' for hijab violations. A legal expert: The police and judicial agents have no right to intervene in hijab issues.