The 'Dolat Bahar' Website is Down; Ahmadinejad: We Oppose the Larijani Brothers

Simultaneously with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's harsh words against the judiciary, Telegram channels close to Ahmadinejad reported that the official website of Ahmadinejad and the website known as 'Dolat Bahar' have been filtered. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated that 'we oppose the Larijani brothers' and addressed the judiciary officials saying: 'Either you are not Iranian or you do not know Iran' and threatened that if they want to convict Hamid Baghaei, his former deputy, 'they must go over my dead body.' The five Larijani brothers are the sons of Ayatollah Mirza Hashem Larijani, who have been involved in the power structure of the Islamic Republic for years. Ahmadinejad accused judiciary officials of 'conspiracy' against him and his associates and attempting to convict Hamid Baghaei for political motives, telling them that 'the people will bring you down.' Hamid Baghaei, Ahmadinejad's deputy during his presidency, on Wednesday, November 15, refused to attend his trial and announced that he, along with Ali Akbar Javanfekr, Ahmadinejad's advisor, and Habibollah Khorasani, the financial officer of the presidency, will stage a sit-in protest at the shrine of Abdul Azim Hassani. Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad on Wednesday, while among them at the shrine, accused the judiciary of intending to 'conspire' against him and his associates by arresting Baghaei, but Baghaei has thwarted this 'conspiracy' by resisting the pressures. Previously, Baghaei had stated that interrogators had asked him to confess against Ahmadinejad and other associates. According to a video released of Ahmadinejad's remarks, he also accused the judiciary of intending to convict Baghaei 'without evidence' and for political motives. He added: 'We oppose the Larijani brothers; is opposing a crime? We do not accept that the country falls into their hands to pressure the people and yield to foreigners.' Ahmadinejad has previously linked the arrests of his associates, including Baghaei, and his own case to the upcoming presidential elections and what he called 'Ali Larijani's candidacy' in these elections. Earlier in November, after the summons of Baghaei and Javanfekr to court, Ahmadinejad described the handling of Baghaei's case as a sign of 'the depth of the disarray in the judiciary' and accused its officials of using 'judicial power as a tool for their personal goals.' The former president of Iran also referred to the formation of a new case against Baghaei, saying that 'Baghaei after the trial said I am not a thief; they say there was an insult to the head of the judiciary. I also say I am not a thief.' He added: 'Did we have a revolution for the country to fall into the hands of a few people who can do whatever they want and no one can protest?' On October 22, Baghaei called his trial 'political' and sarcastically said, 'I have neither 63 personal accounts, nor is my daughter a British spy, nor is my brother corrupt.' This was a reference to the issue of 'personal accounts' of the head of the judiciary and an unverified report from the Amadnews website regarding 'Zahra Larijani's spying,' the daughter of the head of the judiciary. The issue of the head of the judiciary's spying was denied by Sadegh Larijani, judiciary officials, and the Minister of Intelligence, and one day after Baghaei's remarks, the head of the judiciary criticized the labeling of some cases as 'political' and threatened to deal with 'slander and defamation against this judiciary to put an end to this.' Following this, Baghaei and Ali Akbar Javanfekr, Ahmadinejad's media advisor, were summoned to the prosecutor's office. Baghaei had previously stated that interrogators had asked him to confess that Ahmadinejad is a spy. According to Baghaei, in late August 2015, Hossein Taeb, the head of the IRGC Intelligence Organization, met with him in prison and said, 'If you say things against Ahmadinejad and Mashaei, you will be freed.' Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad, referring to Baghaei's remarks, told the judiciary officials, 'You are the spies. The nation will bring down people much bigger than you. We will not back down; if they want to do this (convict Baghaei), they must go over my dead body.' He also referred to the 'pressures' on Baghaei, adding: 'What is going on? Either you are not Iranian or you do not know Iran; this nation has brought down people a hundred times bigger than you.' Ahmadinejad also referred to a previous statement by Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the judiciary spokesman, claiming that Baghaei spent his detention in a suite, saying, 'God willing, you will soon go to a suite; Evin Hotel will be your part.' Baghaei was arrested in 2015 on charges of 'embezzlement' and after that, Ahmadinejad's associates reported that he was released on the orders of the Supreme Leader. He was also arrested in July of this year and released on a bail of 20 billion tomans. Baghaei, along with Ahmadinejad, had run for the presidential elections in 2017, but the Guardian Council rejected both of their qualifications. 'Request for a total payment of 300 million tomans as bonuses to 16 members of the government,' 'assistance to the International University of Iranians,' 'assistance to the Iranian House Organization,' 'assistance to the state newspaper Iran,' and 'charges of collusion in the conclusion of contracts and transactions of five companies' are among the charges against Baghaei. However, Baghaei has denied these charges and stated that these charges and the evidence in his case are 'illegal.' Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, Ahmadinejad's former chief of staff, has also been summoned by the Revolutionary Court on charges of 'insulting' the leadership, 'illegal appropriation of state property, insulting officials of the system, and spreading falsehoods.'