{"id":245034,"date":"2021-08-17T04:07:41","date_gmt":"2021-08-17T09:07:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=245034"},"modified":"2023-01-31T16:29:36","modified_gmt":"2023-01-31T15:29:36","slug":"irans-acquittal-of-formerly-convicted-prosecutor-is-a-blatant-declaration-of-impunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/irans-acquittal-of-formerly-convicted-prosecutor-is-a-blatant-declaration-of-impunity\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s Acquittal of Formerly Convicted Prosecutor Is a Blatant Declaration of Impunity"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Iranian Supreme Court recently nullified the guilty verdict that had been issued by a lower court in 2017 for Saeed Mortazavi. The former Tehran prosecutor had already served 17 months of his two-year sentence and had been released in September 2019. There was never any indication that he faced further legal consequences inside Iran, despite the fact that his prosecution stemmed from the deaths of three individuals who were viciously tortured within his jurisdiction following the 2009 protests.
\nThere have, however, been various calls for Western authorities to arrest him while traveling outside Iran, if only on account of his also being responsible for the 2003 death by torture of Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi<\/a>. The Supreme Court\u2019s announcement can easily be viewed as an instance of the Iranian regime rebuffing demands for further accountability. Furthermore, by clearing Mortazavi\u2019s record, the court has potentially opened the door for him to resume a role similar to that which allowed him to oversee four high-profile instances of fatal torture and likely many others that have not been so widely reported. There is, in fact, no other credible explanation for the regime to take this step at this time. The reversal of Mortazavi\u2019s conviction serves little practical purpose since his punishment had concluded nearly two years earlier. The value of that decision for Tehran is presumably symbolic, and the international community ought to pay close attention to that symbolism and thereby recognize what it says about the impossibility of domestic reform under Iran\u2019s current regime.<\/p>\n

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\nThat message was already conveyed in June when it was confirmed that Ebrahim Raisi would be the latest president of the Iranian regime. Raisi is notorious for having played a leading role in the 1988 massacre of political prisoners, which claimed over 30,000 victims nationwide. More recently, while serving as judiciary chief following an appointment by the regime\u2019s supreme leader, Raisi<\/a> also oversaw aspects of one of the regime\u2019s worst crackdowns on dissent since the time of that massacre.<\/p>\n

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A 2020 report by Amnesty International, titled \u201cTrampling Humanity<\/a>,\u201d explained that participants in a November 2019 uprising had been systematically tortured over a period of months, at the hands of authorities that answered to Raisi. The National Council of Resistance of Iran<\/a> also reported that within days of the unrest breaking out, security forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps killed 1,500 people in shooting incidents spread across the country.<\/p>\n

Raisi\u2019s crimes and abuses, both historic and recent, led to widespread condemnation of his appointment to the presidency, which unsurprisingly was ignored by Tehran. The day after Iran\u2019s sham presidential election, Amnesty International\u2019s Secretary-General said in a statement: \u201cThat Ebrahim Raisi has risen to the presidency instead of being investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, enforced disappearance, and torture is a grim reminder that impunity reigns supreme in Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n

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As Head of the Iranian Judiciary, Ebrahim Raisi has presided over a spiralling crackdown on human rights which has seen hundreds of peaceful dissidents, human rights defenders and members of persecuted minority groups arbitrarily detained. https:\/\/t.co\/Ry0F3vIkql<\/a><\/p>\n

— Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) June 19, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n