Unspoken Details from the Accused Judge in the Kahrizak Case Regarding Arrests After the 2009 Elections

Ali Akbar Heydari-Fard, one of the accused judges in the Kahrizak case, expressed dissatisfaction with the investigation of this case by Abdolhossein Rouh-al-Amini, stating that he had issued the order to transfer 140 individuals to the detention center, claiming that Saeed Mortazavi had 'no role' in this action. In an interview published in the Saturday, October 14 issue of Shargh newspaper, Heydari-Fard also confirmed reports about the issuance of arrest orders for some political activists before the presidential elections of 2009. An examination of the statements of this former deputy prosecutor of the Revolutionary Court reveals that he reviewed the cases of about five thousand detainees from the 2009 protests. According to him, on July 9, 2009, 'about 30,000' security forces were present to prevent gatherings, and during this gathering, 700 individuals were arrested, with about 400 released that day. He admitted that on July 10, 2009, he issued the order to transfer 140 detainees to the Kahrizak detention center. Heydari-Fard claimed that Saeed Mortazavi was on leave during this time and had 'no role in sending the detainees to Kahrizak.' He emphasized that he acted 'in defense of the system and the sanctity of the guardianship.' Heydari-Fard's statements come at a time when, besides him, Saeed Mortazavi and Hassan Zareh Dehnavi (known as Judge Hadad) were sentenced to permanent dismissal from judicial services and five years of dismissal from government services in the Kahrizak case. Meanwhile, reports from the parliament and accounts from Ismail Ahmadi-Moqaddam, the then commander of the police, and Saeed Jalili, the then secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, have mentioned Saeed Mortazavi's role in sending detainees to this detention center. Additionally, on Sunday, September 11, 2016, Mortazavi expressed 'shame' and 'apology' in a letter to the appellate court regarding his actions. However, Heydari-Fard stated that Mortazavi's 'repentance' is 'legally and religiously ineffective.' At the end of the interview, he also asked for 'forgiveness and pardon' from the Supreme Leader and the people for the events that occurred in Kahrizak. This former deputy prosecutor announced that after reports about the Kahrizak detention center were published, he felt 'anxiety' but did not consider himself 'guilty.' He also stated that Saeed Mortazavi was 'wronged' in the Kahrizak case. According to Heydari-Fard, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad intended to introduce Mortazavi as Minister of Justice in his second government, but Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei stated that 'Mortazavi has too many controversies,' and ultimately, this decision was canceled. Heydari-Fard also mentioned that Ahmadinejad supported Mortazavi and him 'from a political standpoint against his critics.' Mortazavi was appointed as the head of the Social Security Organization in Ahmadinejad's second government, and his retention in this position led to the impeachment of the then Minister of Labor. The deputy of the Intelligence Organization of the IRGC acted as an intermediary to gain the satisfaction of the Rouh-al-Amini family. Heydari-Fard also stated that the follow-up of the Kahrizak case by Abdolhossein Rouh-al-Amini, the father of Mohsen Rouh-al-Amini, was 'against the interests of the system' because it had become 'a tool for propaganda against the system.' He also reported that to gain the satisfaction of the Rouh-al-Amini family, Majid Hosseini, the deputy of the IRGC Intelligence Organization, Brigadier General Rahimi, assistant to Mohsen Rezaei at the Expediency Discernment Council, and Ahmad Salek, the representative of Isfahan in the parliament, were intermediaries, but Mr. Rouh-al-Amini did not accept. Abdolhossein Rouh-al-Amini, the father of Mohsen Rouh-al-Amini, is a principlist political figure and close to Mohsen Rezaei. Heydari-Fard also announced that on June 13, 2009, he issued arrest warrants for 'many political activists at the request of security agencies.' He also explained the reasons for issuing arrest orders for several political activists on June 10, 2009, three days before the elections, stating that reformists 'six months before the elections, by forming a committee to protect votes, were trying to use the elections not as a tool for democratic victory but as a means to exert pressure and change the nature of the system.' He claimed that the arrest of members of Mir-Hossein Mousavi's campaign in Qeytarieh on election day was due to the actions of Abdollah Ramadanzadeh, the spokesperson for Mohammad Khatami's government, regarding 'raising slogans questioning the integrity of the elections.' Before the end of the 2009 presidential elections, several campaign offices of Mir-Hossein Mousavi, including the Qeytarieh office, were closed following attacks by plainclothes forces. On election day, several members of the Participation Front were arrested, who later stated that their arrest warrants had been issued before the elections. The former deputy prosecutor also stated that Saeed Mortazavi, the then Tehran prosecutor, had issued a 'general arrest order addressed to the police' before the 2009 elections to detain individuals committing 'obvious crimes' in front of campaign offices and polling stations. He added that in one case, after reviewing the files of 2,700 protesters from the 2009 presidential election, it was decided that 20 percent of the accused would remain in custody and 80 percent would be released. Heydari-Fard also mentioned that on June 29, 2009, coinciding with the Friday prayers led by the Supreme Leader, 1,100 individuals were arrested, and he issued detention orders for about 800 of them. He stated that these individuals were imprisoned in Evin Prison, the police prevention detention center, and 'several other security detention centers' whose names he could not disclose. Heydari-Fard also claimed that after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech on June 13, 2009, some students at Tehran University beat several police officers. He announced that following this incident, some attendees of the speech and police officers attacked the university dormitory, and while 'the main suspects had fled,' 100 students who had no role in the incident were 'beaten' and arrested. He claimed that he issued orders for the release of these students but asked them to 'not tell anyone anything' about it to 'preserve the dignity of the system.' In this interview, Heydari-Fard also stated that Ismail Ahmadi-Moqaddam, the police commander in 2009, 'lacked strategic management power in dealing with the crisis.' This former deputy prosecutor emphasized that Mr. Ahmadi-Moqaddam was 'very weak in creating cohesion among forces, situational awareness, coordination of forces in handling methods, justifying forces in employing techniques for dealing with street crises, and field analysis of the crisis' and 'lacked the necessary courage.' Heydari-Fard also mentioned that he was one of the individuals who confronted protesting students on July 9, 1999. He stated that during his two years of work in security judiciary, he reviewed cases such as the explosion incident at the Rahpouyan Hosseiniyeh in Shiraz, the Alai brothers' case, Shirin Ebadi's case, women's rights activists, the Ramallah mystical groups, the Iranian Monarchist Association, and the board of directors of the Yaran or the leaders of the Baha'is in Iran. The Shargh newspaper stated that the interview with Heydari-Fard was conducted before his arrest. Heydari-Fard was sentenced to 15 years in prison for 'illegal appropriation, unlawful use of government property, bribery, use of weapons, and involvement in various conflicts.' Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the Iranian judiciary, announced on June 20 that Heydari-Fard has two judicial cases and was sentenced to 15 years in prison due to three charges in one of the cases. In 2012, Heydari-Fard was also arrested following a confrontation with a car driver at a gas station in Isfahan and was released shortly after.