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Written by Mohammad Javad Mousavizadeh exclusively for SouthFront
Iran’s judiciary has been on the headline in recent weeks because of mass arrests, a process that has accelerated by new chief Sayyid Ebrahim Raeisi who appointed being chief justice on March 7, 2019.
Nowadays, the demand of struggle against corruption is publicly in the media and the political space in Iran. Just as fans of Raeisi say with a loud voice in the various meetings that “Iconoclast Ebrahim, break the corruption idol.”This slogan refers to the meaning of Ebrahim’s noun as a prophet who broke the idols of infidels in a historical story that the Holy Quran has pointed to it.
The comprehensive corruption has been for many years in the country, and dissatisfactions of people have continued. But today, the mass arrests of officials have caused a little hopefulness among people.
Insofar as the staff of the judicial system had not legal immunity from the fresh attempt to combat corruption.
Just as the Iranian judiciary has dismissed 60 judges since early May in an anti-corruption drive launched by the chief justice. During a press conference in Tehran, Gholam-Hossein Ejei, Raisi’s first deputy, announced that “the sacked judges came from a wide range of ranks in the judiciary,” according to the Al-Monitor.
The most important arrested person was Akbar Tabari the deputy of former Chief Justice Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani on July 14, 2019. He arrested because of economic corruption. In fact, his arrest news was very controversial, because experts say that his confessions can be expressive of deep corruption among officials.
The Imposition of influence on the judicial cases was declared as his charge. Said Gholam Hossein Esmaeili, the spokesperson of the judiciary in a press conference, according to Tasnim News Agency.
Also, Valiyollah Sayf, the former chief of the Central Bank of Iran and Ahmad Araghchi his deputy who is the nephew of Abbas Araghchi, the senior diplomat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were under-trial on Aug 4, 2019. Their charge was the disruption in the currency market. Their open court was held recently, and the official TV of Iran showed their faces.
In the following attempt to combat economic corruption, Abdollah Pourihosseini the former head of the Iranian Privatization Organization and the deputy of the Ministry of Economic arrested on Aug 14, 2019. After that, he immediately resigned, according to the BBC. Also, the BBC reported that in 2 years ago, some media and members of Iran’s parliament had accused the Pourihosseini due to his economic corruption.
Likewise, some mayors and members of local parliaments in Iran have arrested. According to Tasnim News Agency, Vahid Rashidi the mayor of Khoram Abad has arrested by the Intelligence Ministry among the charge of economic corruption on Aug 15, 2019.
“Iranian lawmakers have released a statement to thank the Judiciary Chief Justice Ebrahimi Raeisi for taking measures to root out corruption,” MP Abolfazl Aboutorabi said, according to the Fars News Agency.
“The statement which has been signed by more than 100 lawmakers, voices support for the measures adopted by the Judiciary to fight corruption,” Abotorabi added on Aug 26, 2019.
But the legislative power has not been immune from the recent arrests. That’s why two members of Iran parliament in the names Fereydon Ahmadi and Mohammad Azizi arrested on Aug 22, 2019. Judiciary officials declared Their charge is the disruption in the car market.
Also, disruption in the car market is the charge of Hashem Yeke Zare, former managing director of the Iran Khodro Company as the largest car producer in Iran. He was arrested by the security officers on Aug 19, 2019. Before that, his bank account had been suspended by the order of the judicial system.
In the last important arrest, Shabnam Nematzadeh, the daughter of the former minister of the ministry of industry arrested on Sep 8, 2019. “Disruption in the medicine market and gain wealth by illegally way are her charges.” Said Judge Masoudi according to Mizan, the official news agency of Iran judiciary. Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh is her father. He is the senior advisor of the oil minister in the government too.
But different arrests have had various reactions. President Hasan Rouhani, who his brother is one of the alleged persons, has expressed a reaction.
“The corruption will not root out by the mass arrests, at the first, combat to the corruption is our duty as a government and the judiciary should be in the last step.” He said in the Shahid Rajaeei Festival. “The surveillance system in our country has undergone a calculation error, the surveillance systems should be a helper to the government, not interferer,” he said then.
But the closer persons to leadership have a positive view of the mass arrests. For instance, Parviz Fatah the managing director of Imam Khomeini Relief Comité is one of them.” Don’t concern about mass arrests, Islamic Revolution is changing from internal and it is required that some persons got off the train, even it is possible the revolution will be damaged but it is required for revolution progress. He addressed to students recently in a lecture at the Mashhad Ferdowsi University.
Of course, some experts say that the new attempt to combat corruption is a political action by Raeisi because he was the main rival of Rouhani in the last presidential elections and the two sides had a tough criticism of one another.
But this idea has opponents.
“Mr. Raeisi stands up strongly against the corruption and these words are the only joke. Soon, all will see the judicial system is decisive to combat corruption,” said Haji Sadeghi the representative of leadership in the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps. “Intent of the combat corruption is not political whereas the satisfaction of God considered,” he added, according to the report of Khabar Online.
Also recently, Raeisi said in a meeting with students that “We have not a red line in the combat to corruption, especially economic corruption. Anybody in any position, the officials and people should be aware that there is no red line for us.”
“We will support the reports of people about corruption, and we will praise the persons that do it,” he added.
Raeisi was born in Mashhad City on Dec 14, 1960. He is a member of the Experts Assembly of Iran now. He was Attorney General from 2014 to 2016 and deputy chief justice from 2004 to 2014. Also, he was chairman of Astan Quds Razavi, from 2016 until 2019.
Many interpreters of political space in Iran are believed that Raeisi can be the next leader of Iran because he has a common opinion with many of Iran`s jurists. Also, Raeisi is the son in law of Ayatollah Allamolhoda the representative of leadership in Khorasan Razavi Province and the leader of Mashhad Friday prayer.
But, the next Iran parliament elections will be on Feb 21, 2020. It has related to an attempt to combat corruption because the dissatisfaction of people is at a high level now about the economic situation of the country. The tough sanctions of the administration of President Trump have imposed many problems on the Iranians and the stuff prices and inflation are at the highest level since Iran’s revolution in 1979.
That`s why some experts say that the hopefulness of Iranians for participation in the next elections is reduced and attempt to combat corruption can increase the hope between people and the rate of participation in this event. Therefore, the high-speed of mass arrests can be related to the next parliament elections. Of course, some interpreters are opponents to the mentioned idea, they think that Chief Justice Raeisi has the strong will to combat corruption without any considering the political issues.
Finally, the mass arrests have caused the officials to be careful more than another time. There is an arrest every day, and anybody can be the next aim of the judicial system. The gesture of Raeisi is fascinating about the struggle against economic corruption, whereas many experts say struggle to economic corruption is not all the problems, just as working-class, journalists and political critics need more support by the judiciary.
Brief Bio: Mohammad Javad Mousavizadeh is a journalist from Iran. He is the press translator and writer for Iranians newspapers. Also, he is the director of Mashhadtribune, a local news agency in Mashhad City as the second city in Iran. As well as he writes for Eastern Herald.
So far the majority of people are happy with what he is doing. Here when somebody does something useful it’s immediately attached to an election (we have at least one election each year, from presidential to parliament, mid-terms, assembly of experts, city and town council, etc, so it’s not that hard to say it’s because of the election!).
Aside from the sanctions and their effects, we had many problems with privatization (huge organizations and industries bought for penny and destroyed), personal-profit-oriented decisions (import of train cars and engines, pipes, heavy construction vehicles, paper etc while the domestic manufactures who can do that cheaper, went bankrupt because of this decision, workers out of a job), land theft (by inventing paperwork for national lands or the ones with dead owners) and monopoly in trade, import, manufacturing which resulted in destruction of many smaller companies and plants. On top of them, a very relaxed Judiciary with the pace of a snail, blind and deaf.
If anything, it’s entirely different with the war on corruption, MbS style. I hope he manages to continue with the same pace and dedication. The results are promising and many things have changed.
Corruption is of course the cancer that can destroy all nations, especially when it reaches the ‘head’ of such nations.
Arguably the USA is in the terminal stages of Cancer Corruption and is dying in front of us all.
I hope that Iran’s swift surgery to remove their affected areas is successful.
I said hang the corrupt official and business men,leva e they family with the legal salary they have truly earned over the years ,all that was hidden or abroad,in the nation should be auction and the money should be handed to the poor.
The whole system is corrupt, top down and unless the mullahs are kicked out, nothing will change.
Sadly, the mullah regime is corrupt to the core and has mishandled just about every aspect of Iran. At the time of the Shah’s overthrow there were barely 20,000 clergy in Iran and now there are close to 250,000 mullahs and aspiring mullahs and the level of corruption is about thousand fold from what the Pahlavi regime could ever do. Religion, economics and politics simply do not mix in any society, whether it is corrupt mullah, child abusing Vatican sickos or Talmudic perverts. The idea behind the Iranian revolution before it was hijacked by the mullahs with western intelligence backing was to create a just, educated, democratic socialist egalitarian system, and an enlightened society, instead Iran got thieving mullahs fanning sectarianism, no different than the Wahhabi scum or Zionist parasites. On a national level Iran had the potential to be a economic and strategic powerhouse, instead of 40 years of repression and putting women in chadors. Only secular societies can prosper in the modern world.
power corrupts,period
Yeah, do notice eh…. the Units, Brigades and HasbaRats flooding the sites this days, yeah, mullah regime, I could give you an hour or two in corruption in Norway, an eh….. protestantic neo-liberal shithole where we are buttf…. from every angle to tripling road tax for the benefit of an religious scam called AGW. But hey, I salute anyone, any countrys leadership the hangs the corrupt f…. from the nearest possible lamp post, and I like the way the Chines deals with bankers whom swindles the people for what little they have, no mercy, just hangs them, and that, pussys is what we in Norway should have done, where inflation is sky rocketing, and we cant do jack shit. ByroCrauts, the leauge of untuchables, whom is inflicting so much pain and missery its jaw dropping, and nothing, not an f…. thing is done to this breads of scums, nothing, and Norway is suposedly an uh….. liberal progresive uh….. nation, the cost of having dumb f…. house wifes into politics, an breed deprivated from sanity and the ability to be honest.
https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/hillary-emails-reveal-nato-killed-gaddafi-to-stop-libyan-creation-of-gold-backed-currency/
Yeah, even in some of the worst so called Alt-eh…..-right shitholes can emit some light. Hurmf, I am always impressed by the Moronikans ability to expose their ignorance, and do continue. The truth about the war agaist Libya, and in it is an video, I recomend you all to watch, nothing new for some, but never the less, an useful recap of what really happened, its about Libya and Gaddafy, one of the few heroes in Africa I know of, an real man.
I have an gift to Mofo, since the Vilage idiot from NY is on the rope/plank and is attacked by some of the worst and evil rat pack humanity have known, lead by Hillarious Caligule Clintonius, the Beast from Little Rock. And on top of it its from an site I consider to be an head banger for the scums of this earth, the Joohohos, an site to rotten they stink high heaven, and is one of the places witch is 100% wankeedoodles and by that I mean basically everything they write is so lame it hurts but it works in an people dumbed down to an extent that comparing them to sheeps is an insult to the sheeps, nothing is as stupid as an averga prozac soaked JoeSix pack and the Botox indused dump they call women.
peace