The Son of Attaollah Mohajerani Released

Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai, the lawyer of Mohsen Mohajerani, has stated that his client was released on Wednesday. Mohsen Mohajerani, the son of Attaollah Mohajerani, former Minister of Culture in Iran, has also published a letter stating that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) agents returned the airplane he was on, heading to the United Arab Emirates, from the sky over Isfahan back to Tehran for his arrest. In this letter, published on Friday, December 20, in several Iranian news agencies including Khabar Online, Mr. Mohajerani accused Masoud Mir Kazemi, the oil minister in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government, of introducing him as the 'main agent and behind-the-scenes' figure in the Fortuna oil rig case with a 'specific political bias.' He implicitly indicated that Mr. Mir Kazemi's statements led to his arrest by the IRGC intelligence forces. Mohsen Mohajerani reported that agents returned the airplane he was on, which was supposed to go to the UAE, from the sky over Isfahan to Tehran for his arrest. According to Mr. Mohajerani, he was arrested in a 'completely abnormal' manner after having legally boarded the airplane following the usual passport check procedures. Mr. Mohajerani announced that he was finally released on Wednesday, December 18, after spending 21 days in prison. Fars News Agency reported on Wednesday, November 28, about the arrest of Mohsen Mohajerani in relation to the missing Fortuna oil rig case. The agency wrote that during the purchase of this oil rig, 'two oil brokers' were involved, one of whom was Mohammad Hassan Mohajerani, who 'received a 300 million toman advance for this contract.' According to reports, the Fortuna oil drilling rig was sold during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's administration through a Turkish company to the Marine Facilities Company, a subsidiary of the Iranian Ministry of Oil, but despite the payment of its $87 million price, it was not delivered to Iran. Meanwhile, Masoud Mir Kazemi, the former oil minister and representative of the ninth parliament, had announced that Mohsen Mohajerani was the 'broker' for this rig. Following these statements, Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai, Mr. Mohajerani's lawyer, reported in Mordad that his client's complaint against Masoud Mir Kazemi for 'spreading falsehoods' had been registered in the fourth branch of the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office. In his letter, Mohsen Mohajerani requested that his complaint against Mr. Mir Kazemi be pursued 'more swiftly' alongside the Fortuna oil rig case. He also announced that he would file a complaint against 'media outlets that spread slander and defamation' and parliament representatives who attempted to 'create a diversion in the proceedings' of the Fortuna oil rig case with 'slander and defamation.' The story of the missing Fortuna oil rig became public in late October of last year when 14 members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly wrote a letter to the Speaker of Parliament requesting follow-up on the issue. After that, Hossein Dehdashti, a representative from Abadan, reported that another rig had also been sold to Iran but had not entered the country. Meanwhile, Amir Abbas Soltani, a member of the Energy Commission of Parliament, reported on Tuesday, September 9, extensive 'violations' in the transaction of '25 oil rigs' and stated that he had submitted the 'files and passports' of 12 'violators' to the judiciary.