We Do Not Forgive

The newspaper Shargh, in its front page on Wednesday, quoted the families of the victims of the Kahrizak detention center stating: "We do not forgive." This comes after the former Tehran prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi, issued an apology regarding the "crimes of the Kahrizak detention center." While almost all conservative media have remained notably silent on this issue, it continues to be a topic of discussion among users on social media. Many users have emphasized that Mortazavi should be punished for what happened in Kahrizak. The most heartbreaking reaction came from the sister of Mohammad Kamrani, an 18-year-old who died in Kahrizak and missed his university entrance exam. She addressed Mortazavi saying: "This grief cannot be forgotten with an apology," and "Your apology does not heal my mother's heart-wrenching cries and my father's choked sobs. They had great hopes for their beloved child; however, you destroyed all those hopes with your decree." The newspaper reminded that it has been seven years since Mohammad Kamrani, Amir Javadi-Far, and Mohsen Rouh-al-Amini were killed in the Kahrizak detention center, and Mortazavi, the one who ordered the transfer of detainees to Kahrizak and denied involvement in this horrific incident for seven years, is now apologizing. Asifeh Kamrani, Mohammad Kamrani's sister, stated that "the nightmare of Kahrizak will never end, and its stain will never be erased; even with your apology, Mr. Mortazavi, after seven years." The newspaper also quoted Nemat Ahmadi, a lawyer and legal expert, referring to the victims of Kahrizak as "martyrs" and noted that "these martyrs were fortunate enough to have a child of one of the officials among them." However, "wasn't it the doctor of this detention center, Dr. Ramin Pourandarjani, who suspiciously died, and his family's voice went unheard? I believe someone should apologize to the Pourandarjani family and take responsibility for this incident." According to Shargh, Mohammad Reza Zaeri, a cleric close to conservatives, reacted interestingly to Mortazavi's apology on his Instagram page, stating: "The survival of the Islamic Republic depends on public trust and the people's belief, which relies on various factors such as Mortazavi's court ruling. His crime is not only the murder of the innocent Kahrizak victims and the complex case of Zahra Kazemi but also includes embezzlement and lies and media cases." Mohammad Reza Zaeri has called for the death penalty for Saeed Mortazavi, stating: "There are many terrifying points that, if the necessary space is provided one day, may come to light. The damaged trust of the people, especially in the current dangerous and sensitive situation, can only be somewhat repaired with his death sentence, and any slackness regarding this issue and neglect of the severe and serious damages he has inflicted on the pillars of the Islamic Republic will lead to threats, the least of which will be the collapse of the system." The newspaper Etemad reported on its front page about "the statistics and figures of profiteering from sanctions," stating that Valiollah Seif, the head of the Central Bank of Iran, said that 15% of Iran's foreign and international transactions went to those who have taken the title of "sanction profiteers" in the post-sanction era. This newspaper noted that only last year, Iran's international trade in non-oil exports and imports amounted to $83.9 billion and $33 billion in oil, respectively, meaning that with a total foreign trade turnover of $117 billion, the 15% share of sanction profiteers amounts to $17.5 billion, which, at an exchange rate of 3000 tomans per dollar, means that sanction profiteers have gained approximately 52 trillion tomans from the sanctions. Etemad, citing the head of the Central Bank, reported that over the years of sanctions, "middlemen and rent-seekers have profited 268 trillion tomans from Iran's sanctions." The newspaper Iran also quoted the head of the Central Bank stating that "the country's trade equations, which once had the cost of sanction profiteers at 15% of international trade, are now directly conducted with foreign companies." This government-aligned newspaper simultaneously reported on the ambiguous fate of the "fuel oil" shipment delivered to Babak Zanjani, stating that "the case of Babak Zanjani's debt to the Ministry of Oil has not reached a clear point even after three years, to the extent that the director of international affairs of the National Iranian Oil Company says we still do not know what happened to the fuel oil shipment delivered to this oil suspect." This newspaper quoted Mohsen Qamsari, the director of international affairs of the National Iranian Oil Company, stating that "Babak Zanjani obtained permission from the previous government to sell three types of oil shipments (crude oil, gas condensates, and fuel oil) during the sanctions, and so far, part of the crude oil and gas condensate shipments have been returned to the Ministry of Oil, and gradually the oil company will sell these shipments," but "the status of the fuel oil shipment is still unclear." The newspaper Hamdeli reported on "new insults in the vocabulary of the alarmists," stating that following Ahmad Mazani's defense of holding music concerts, a well-known cleric, Mansour Arzi, insulted this representative and the "parliament" during a religious ceremony, saying: "This filthy scoundrel in the guise of a cleric has said this, and the cultural representative of that ruined parliament is also one of them." This newspaper reminded that "this was not the first time this famous cleric has used a religious platform for political purposes. He, who has been a staunch supporter of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has repeatedly insulted political figures during his recitations." Simultaneously, Valiollah Shchaa Poorian, in an editorial for the newspaper Hamdeli, pointed out that "the ruined parliament," "the harem lord," "the filthy scoundrel," and other recent expressions have been issued from the pulpits of religious assemblies and the platforms of self-proclaimed religious and cultural figures in recent days, stating: "If such clerics and preachers had concerns for religion and Sharia, why did they close their eyes to all the law violations, misconduct, and rampant corruption for eight years?" The editorial writer emphasized that "today's society is not the past society that can be manipulated with negative propaganda and the exploitation of people's pure religious feelings for party and factional interests," stating: "Those who once had extensive power and issued decrees without hesitation will one day have to answer before God and the nation; if today individuals like Mortazavi apologize for their past mistakes, it won't be long before those who shamelessly violate ethics and conscience in society will have to account for their actions; because the sun will not always remain behind the clouds." The newspaper Jomhouri Eslami also published a note titled "Put an End to These Bad Languages," stating: "We must seek refuge in God Almighty from the evil of this tongue that so easily utters these shameful words against morality, the system, and the clergy on the Day of Arafah, and this structural attack occurs at a time when that respected cleric and reformist member of parliament has denied the statements attributed to him, yet this cleric, whose expertise is to destroy the images and personalities of the country – of course from a specific political faction – has ignored that denial and, in addition to insulting a member of parliament, has also attacked his clerical attire, which is the result of hard work and studying in religious seminaries, and worst of all, has insulted the very essence of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, which is the result of the votes and opinions of the majority of the Muslim Iranian nation, calling it a "ruined parliament." The writer of the Jomhouri Eslami note asked: "If any powerful and influential media were to call a cleric a filthy scoundrel and describe the parliament as ruined, how would they react, and what would the judicial, political, and security institutions do? But now, an individual admits that during his tenure, three people were martyred by government agents in the Islamic Republic! And he advises the officials of the system not to forget the moral damages and enormous costs of this incident! And everyone is silent and just watching." This newspaper emphasized: "Those who would burn the Qeysariyeh for a handkerchief should take a look at the raging flames of a sedition that is approaching from behind and, before it is too late, think of a fundamental solution and realize that the only way to return to the principle of unity is to silence the inciting individuals who easily become instruments of the enemy and to take decisive and timely action against violators in any position and attire, and never forget that 'the measure is the people's vote,' and without their support and trust, this system will have no superiority over other systems merely by relying on unsupported slogans and policies." The newspaper Javan, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, harshly attacked Masoud Pezeshkian and Ali Motahari, the first and second vice presidents of the tenth parliament, and some other members of parliament, stating: "The dignity of the parliament lies with its representatives." This newspaper wrote: "The parliament must certainly be at the top of affairs, but many behaviors of representatives raise the question of whether these behaviors are befitting of the parliament, and then we come to a simple yet profound proverb: the dignity of the Imamzadeh is in its caretaker." The newspapers Kayhan, Vatan-e-Emruz, Resalat, and several other newspapers close to conservatives also dedicated their main headlines on Thursday to the statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic during a meeting with the officials of the population census and the Statistical Center of Iran, quoting Ayatollah Khamenei as saying: "Tampering with statistics, which is also subject to the judgment of the discerning people, is a grave sin." Kayhan, simultaneously publishing a report, accused Hassan Rouhani's government of "tampering with statistics," including manipulating economic growth figures, stating: "The Statistical Center has manipulated the details of economic growth, affecting the overall figure, ultimately providing a more favorable economic growth statistic than other statistical centers." This newspaper also wrote: "The contradictions and statistical censorships by these governmental institutions are aimed at covering up the disordered economic situation and fabricating statistics."