Vaezi: The Ministry of Intelligence and the system have the right to sue Ismail Bakhtiari

Mahmoud Vaezi, the head of the Iranian President's office, announced on Wednesday, January 9, that it has been decided that "this right will be considered for the Ministry of Intelligence and the system" to file a complaint against Ismail Bakhtiari, one of the representatives of the Haft Tappeh sugarcane workers. He stated that following the report from the Minister of Intelligence regarding the investigation of Bakhtiari's claims about his torture in the ministry's detention center, it became clear that this claim was, according to him, "not true at all." This government official announced that the judiciary has been asked to review the Ministry of Intelligence's complaint against Bakhtiari, stating: "It cannot be that some people make claims and the system is questioned." Vaezi's remarks came at a time when the results of the investigations by the committee formed by the government and the judiciary's delegation sent to Shush in Khuzestan province have not yet been announced. According to the Telegram channel Emtehad, Bakhtiari's complaint file is currently in the "preliminary investigation stage," according to his lawyer. Meanwhile, according to ISNA news agency, Laya Janidi, the legal deputy of the Iranian President, pointed out that the committee formed by Hassan Rouhani is "doing its work and will announce its report," adding: "If Bakhtiari's claims are true, the events that occurred are unconstitutional and must be dealt with severely, and if nothing happened or what was claimed is not substantiated, it destroys the greatest asset of any country, which is trust." Janidi called for "patience and endurance to address this issue." In the meantime, Farzaneh Zilabi, Bakhtiari's lawyer, expressed surprise at the statements made by the head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Parliament, saying, "Before a verdict is issued, especially in the preliminary investigation stage, from someone who is a member of the country's legislative body, it surprised me." She also considered Hoshmatollah Fallah-Pisheh's reference to Bakhtiari's confession video as a clear example of illegality in the legislative body, adding: "The Parliament should be the voice of the nation, not specific institutions." Fallah-Pisheh had accused Bakhtiari of being affiliated with the Iranian Workers' Communist Party based on a video of Bakhtiari's "confessions." This parliament member claimed that Bakhtiari "confessed in a video to his affiliation with the Workers' Communist Party, but the audio was completely unclear." However, Asghar Karimi, the head of the executive committee of the Workers' Communist Party of Iran, denied these statements, telling Radio Farda: "I explicitly deny Bakhtiari's affiliation with the Workers' Communist Party. He has neither requested membership in the Workers' Communist Party nor is he a member of the party." According to Emtehad, affiliated with the Islamic Iran Nation Alliance Party, Bakhtiari's lawyer criticized the airing of his client's confession video in the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, adding: "We all know the story of this documentation well, and it should not have been reflected in a case that is in the preliminary investigation stage." Zilabi also considered the presence of Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence, in the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission meeting as "a one-sided approach to the judge" and added that her client had requested to attend the commission meeting, and it would have been good for Fallah-Pisheh to hear his statements as well. In this regard, the independent channel of Haft Tappeh workers reported that Bakhtiari was "prevented" from attending the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission meeting. Reports indicate that the Minister of Intelligence and the ministry's officials referred to Bakhtiari's torture as a claim and denied it during this meeting. Bakhtiari stated that he was tortured during his 25-day detention in the Intelligence Department's detention center and invited the Minister of Intelligence to participate in a live televised debate; this invitation has so far gone unanswered by Mahmoud Alavi. Meanwhile, according to IRNA news agency, Fatemeh Saidi, the spokesperson for the reformist faction in Parliament, known as the Hope faction, stated that members of this faction held separate meetings with the Minister of Intelligence and Bakhtiari regarding his claims. According to ISNA news agency, Saidi announced that "the Hope faction plans to travel to Khuzestan province and Shush city to conduct a final assessment on-site regarding Bakhtiari's claims."