The Court Hearing of Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei Took Place; Mashaei Removed His Shirt

While the judiciary news agency reported on the court hearing of Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, the head of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's office during his presidency, on Saturday, September 3, the government website announced that Mr. Mashaei was taken to court 'by force.' Meanwhile, in a video released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) from the court session, Mr. Mashaei engages in a verbal altercation with an unidentified individual and removes his shirt. IRIB reported that Mr. Mashaei intended to 'disrupt' the court session and bring the court to a halt. The released video and photos from other news agencies indicate that Mr. Mashaei deliberately turned his face away from the judge and sat awkwardly. The government website also stated that Mr. Mashaei was 'forcibly' brought to court. His defense attorneys, Adel Heydari and Ali Asghar Hosseini, announced that they were not present at the court session. Previously, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei had stated in a phone call from prison to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that he would not attend the court session due to 'lack of competence' and the 'non-public' nature of the trial, as well as the failure to read the indictment. Gholamhossein Esmaili, head of the Tehran judiciary, had said on August 20 that 'the decision regarding the public or private nature of court sessions is up to the presiding judge, but in a consultation we had, it was decided that Mashaei's court would be held publicly.' However, only IRIB's camera was allowed to attend the court, and ISNA reported that journalists were not permitted to be present at the session. Additionally, the name of the second defendant in this case was censored in the video released by IRIB. Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, who was the head of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's office during his presidency, was arrested on March 14, 2018, after burning Hamid Bakayi's verdict in front of the British embassy in Tehran. The court clerk stated that Mr. Mashaei's charges included 'conspiracy against national security' and 'pursuing the approaches of the global arrogance think tank to infiltrate against officials.' Hamid Bakayi, Ahmadinejad's executive deputy, has also been sentenced to 15 years in prison for 'embezzlement' and 'misappropriation of state property' and has been in prison since March 13, 2018. Mr. Bakayi has repeatedly stated that he has gone on hunger strike in protest of his sentence.