The Harsh Letter from the Hashemi Rafsanjani Family to the Judiciary Spokesman

The wife and family of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani responded in separate letters to Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the first deputy of the judiciary and its spokesman, regarding his recent comments about the accusations and conviction of Mehdi Hashemi. In the letter published on the website of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, the family of the head of the Expediency Discernment Council stated that the judge handling Mehdi Hashemi's accusations exonerated himself by saying "on duty and excused" in response to his objections about the trial process. According to this website, Iffat Marashi, the wife of the head of the Expediency Discernment Council, wrote in a letter to Mohseni Ejei: "It seems that your conscience is troubled by the injustice done to Mehdi, which does not allow you to find solace by answering your own obvious questions." Mrs. Marashi further stated in her letter to the judiciary spokesman that she would send him a portion of the many questions regarding the so-called trial of Mehdi, and if he answered, she would send more important questions, hoping it might heal his pain. Simultaneously, the family of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani published a letter signed by "the household of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani," stating that "a few months before the final verdict was announced [for Mehdi Hashemi, son of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani], a draft of a ruling reached them, which was claimed to be Mehdi's final ruling, and it was said that the decision had been made in advance." The family of the head of the Expediency Discernment Council wrote that "the issued ruling [for Mehdi Hashemi] was exactly part of that text." Mehdi Hashemi has been imprisoned in Evin Prison since mid-August of this year to serve his ten-year sentence; he does not consider the court ruling against him to be "fair and legal" and has declared that "political motives" were the "main factor" in issuing this ruling. Last Sunday, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei stated in his weekly press conference that "during surprise inspections" of wards 7 and 8 of Evin Prison, "a mobile phone with a SIM card" and "about 30 coins were discovered" from Mehdi Hashemi, son of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. In response to these comments from the first deputy of the judiciary, the Hashemi Rafsanjani family wrote a letter, the text of which has been reflected in Iranian media, explaining the judicial process of Mehdi Hashemi's accusations, pointing out instances that they believe represent "clear injustice and repeated violations of the law." The letter emphasizes that in the case of Mehdi Hashemi's accusations related to receiving bribes from the Norwegian company Statoil during his management at the Fuel Conservation Organization, "there was no document or evidence that Mehdi received any money." The Hashemi Rafsanjani family referred to the response of the prosecutor's representative in the court session, who stated, "We have not claimed that Mehdi received money." According to the family of the head of the Expediency Discernment Council, "This is the first case in the judicial history of Iran where a person has been accused of receiving money without having received a single rial, and even the judge of the case admits that he knows the accused did not receive money, yet he is accused of receiving money and sentenced." In the letter from the Hashemi Rafsanjani family to the judiciary spokesman, which is structured in 13 sections, manipulation of the time and date of events in the indictment and verdict is mentioned. The letter also emphasizes that "the confessions of individuals have been forged and distorted." The Hashemi Rafsanjani family claims that "the names of individuals in the statements have been changed and attributed to Mehdi Hashemi." According to the family of the head of the Expediency Discernment Council, in the court examining the accusations against Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's son, despite the insistence and request of his lawyer, no witnesses were brought to court, and the documents referred to in the indictment and verdict were not requested from the relevant agencies and organizations. The letter states that official documents were set aside and "copy documents, without signatures and identity" were referenced. The Hashemi Rafsanjani family emphasized that Mehdi Hashemi was not allowed to make his final defense in court after the statements of the judge examining his accusations. The household of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani stated in this letter that despite the repeated emphasis of judicial officials that Mehdi Hashemi's accusations are economic, the case was referred to branches in the primary and appellate courts that did not specialize in this matter and were mainly branches specialized in handling security and drug-related accusations. Mehdi Hashemi's accusations were examined in Branch 28 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Mohammad Mogheiseh, who has reviewed many cases of ideological, political, and security defendants over the years. The Hashemi Rafsanjani family, reiterating Mehdi Hashemi's insistence and their own insistence on holding a public trial for Mehdi Hashemi's accusations, once again requested the judiciary to "fully and uncensored provide the defense sessions of Mehdi Hashemi to the public." Previously, the family of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani had also reacted to the criticism of the head of the judiciary regarding the release of the farewell video of Mehdi Hashemi with his father, protesting the "prohibition of publication" of his defenses despite what they claimed was the dissemination of "lies and slanders" about this case in state media and military institutions.