Criminal Court Summons Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, No Charge Specified
The summons was purportedly made pursuant to a complaint from several members of Iran’s parliament, the Islamic Consultative Assembly.
The official information website of the IRI’s executive branch has released a scan of the notice of summons issued to Ahmadinejad. According to the document, Ahmadinejad is required to appear before the court on November 26, 2013, almost four months after he is required to leave office. No charges or details of the complaint are specified on the document, which simply references the individuals filing it—Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative assembly; the head of the assembly’s Article 90 commission (which hears complaints against the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government as specified by Article 90 of the Constitution of the IRI); and Yaghoub Khalilnejad, about whom no information has been confirmed.
In response to the summons, the president’s office points out that the lack of a specified charge on Ahmadinejad’s notice violates the Constitution of the IRI. Article 32 of the Constitution does state that detainees must be notified of charges against them as soon as possible, although it does not explicitly state that such a notice must enumerate the charges relevant to the summons. But the notice suggests a violation of Article 140 of the Constitution of the IRI, which states that legal charges against the President, his Vice Presidents, and cabinet ministers are within the competency of the public courts, not criminal courts like the one that issued this summons (translation below).
Branch 76 of the Criminal Court of Tehran Province
Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Notification number: 9210100225400075
File number: 9009982132600010
Branch archive number: 910017
Date prepared: May 28, 2013
Details of Summonee:
1. Name: Mahmoud
2. Family name: Ahmadinejad
3. Father’s name: —
4. Postal code: —
5. National ID code: —
6. Address: Tehran, Office of the President
7. City region: —
Date of attendance: Tuesday, November 26, 2013 at 10:00 AM.
Location: Tehran — North Khayyam Street — Imam Khomeini Complex — Criminal Courts of Tehran Province
Reason for attendance: Regarding the complaint of the Head of the Article 90 Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly — and Ali Larijani, (Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly) — and Yaghoub Khalilnejad against you.
Be present at this court for examination at the specified time.
[Signature]Date of delivery to the summoning authority: —
This portion will be completed by the Notice Office.
Signature or fingerprint of recipient: —
Certification of Notice Officer: —
Notice Office Access Number: —
Name and family name of the Notice Officer: —
Signature of Notice Officer: —
Address: Tehran — North Khayyam Street — Imam Khomeini Complex — Criminal Courts of Tehran Province
Possession of national ID card is needed to certify identity.
