Most Shaniefial Sham Trial of 30 Years - Iran Press Watch http://www.iratçresswatcltorg'post/4937
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Most Shameful Sham Trial of 30 Years
Roozonline-August 27th, 2009
Editor's Note: Iran has a long and sad history of creating
show-trials for the public consumption, though it appears
that even the most gullible Iranians are no longer buying
these show-trials and seeing through the sham and
charade created by unscrupulous authorities. Roozonline
has reported on the latest session of one of such
show-trials and that reports appears below for the benefit
of our readers.
By Roozonline
The fourth trial session of political activists and journalists
opposed to the June 12 disputed presidential election was ________
held yesterday at branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. Instead of defending
themselves, the detainee activists were forced to testify against themselves and their
colleagues while also expressing satisfaction with the treatment they had received from
interrogators and prison guards.
And as in the three previous trials, only reporters from pro-government media outlets
were allowed to cover the proceedings, which were presided over by Judge Salavati and
held in absence of local and foreign reporters. Fars news agency published the entire text
of the indictment only a few minutes after it was read by the prosecutor. Meanwhile,
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Most Shaniefial Sham Trial of 30 Years - Iran Press Watch http://www .iratcresswatch .org /post /4937
families of the detained political activists were not allowed to attend the so-called public
trial session.
Saeed Hajjarian, Behzad Nabavi, Mohsen Mirdamadi, Saeed Laylaz, Ahmad Zeidabadi,
Mohsen Safaei-Farahani, Feizollah Arabsorkhi, Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, Mohsen
Aminzadeh, Mostafa Tajzadeh, Saeed Shariati, Keyan Tajbakhsh, Ali Tajernia, Sadegh
Norouzi, Shahab Tabatabaei, Hedayat Aghaei, Masoud Bastani, Hamzeh Ghalebi,
Moham mad Ghouchani and Moham mad Reza Jalaeipour were the defendants in
yesterday's trial session.
Saeed Hajjarian and Saeed Shariati Resign from Mosharekat Party
Yesterday, a text allegedly authored by Saeed Hajjarian, the prominent architect of the
reform movement who has a speech disability caused by a young Basiji assasin's bullet
that struck his head in 2000, was read by Saeed Shariati, a member of the Mosharekat
[ Participation] Party. According to the text, which was read after the prosecutor's
representative called for maximum punishment, Hajjarian, one of the founders of the
Mosharekat Party, “resigned” from the party and “apologized” to the people.
Among the charges raised yesterday against Saeed Hajjarian by the prosecutor's
representative were acting against national security, fraud and cheating in elections,
conspiracy with foreign elements, undermining of legal government, cooperating with
anti-revolutionary Farsi and English networks, insulting the supreme leader and other
officials. Additionally, participating in illegal gatherings, causing disruption, publishing
fraudulent letters, libel and slander against officials, negotiating with John Caine, “the
most influential British political theorist of Eastern European disintegration,” and
communicating with a member of the Soros Foundation were among this senior
Mosharekat Party figure's charges. The prosecutor's representative also revealed
yesterday that Hajjarian's charges emanated from his research and reporting on the
Islamic Passdaran Revolutionary Guards Corps' (IRGC) Sarallah Brigade.
In the text allegedly authored by Hajjarian, he accused himself of “providing faulty
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Most Shaniefial Sham Trial of 30 Years - Iran Press Watch http://www .iratcresswatch .org /post /4937
analyses” and, apologizing to the Iranian people, noted that he investigated the essential
causes underlying his analyses in the past ten or fifteen years, the result of which is
discussed in his confession letter.
In the text allegedly authored by Hajjarian, he first discussed his background in political
theory, and then criticized Max Weber's theories and dismissed them as irrelevant to
Iran's present condition.
Hajjarian then criticized higher education officials for not preventing students from
accessing and studying foreign academic textbooks, concluding that the teaching of liberal
arts theories in Iranian universities was one of the causes of recent disturbances and
destruction of public property.
Other Defendants' Confessions
Another Mosharekat Party member who has been detained since the election, Saeed
Shariati, also resigned from Mosharekat Party. Noting that he was treated kindly, he
apologized to ayatollah Khamenei for hurting and insulting him and expressed his shame
and guilt.
Hedayatollah Aghaei, a member of the Kargozaran Sazandegi [ Servants of Construction]
Party also said at yesterday's sessions, “I declare that no one can cause separation
between us and the regime because we belong to this regime.”
Another post-election detainee and head of the website “Jomhouriyat,” Hamzeh Karami,
claimed that Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani, the son of the head of the Assembly of Experts,
did not agree with the electoral process. Karami claimed that under Mehdi Hashemi's
pressure the website “Jomhouriyat” turned into an “extremist and deconstructive”
website.
According to Karami, Jomhouriyat website's personnel printed pamphlets for Mir-Hossein
Mousavi's campaign headquarters undermining and questioning the ninth administration's
performance and integrity and distributed them to the public. Karami quoted Jasbi, head
of the Azad University system (and a supporter of Hashemi Rafsanjani), as having said,
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Most Shaniefial Sham Trial of 30 Years - Iran Press Watch http://www .iratcresswatch .org /post /4937
“We must do everything so that someone other than Ahmadinejad becomes the
president.”
Claiming that he had no direct responsibilities at the Jomhouriyat website — which was in
essence run by Mehdi Hashemi — Karami said that he regarded the printing of “pamphlets”
against Ahmadinejad to be unfair and was opposed to this.
Hamzeh Karami then accused Mehdi Hashemi of intending to release confidential
documents during the election.
Jomhouriyat Website's Office at Azad University
Masoud Bastani, a journalist detained after the election, also accused Mehdi Hashemi
Rafsanjani of running the website Jomhouriyat and claimed that the website's office was at
Azad University: “The website's office was located in one of Azad University's offices, and
our payments were on Azad University checks.” He claimed that the website serves as the
psychological warfare headquarters against the regime's officials and said that the website
sought to portray the ninth administration as inept by publishing false reports.
Noting that he cooperated with the website RoozOnline, Radio Farda, Radio Chekavak and
the weekly Shahreban, Bastani said that these media outlets sought to attack the
administration's four-year record, as well as the Guardian Council, police, Basij and IRGC,
in addition to sowing seeds of doubt about the election results and the viability of the
administration's policies.
As the trial dragged on, Shahabeddin Tabatabaei, a member of Mosharekat Party's central
committee and the head of its youth branch, expressed regret for having agreed to an
interview with the BBC about the post-election protests.
Another post-election detainee was Kian Tajbakhsh who claimed that “the Hashemi
Rafsanjani government began the plan of cultural transformation.”
According to the prosecutor's claims, Tajbakhsh was charged with acting against national
security through “membership in CIA agent Gary Sick's online network,” espionage,
cooperating with anti-Islamic republic foreign agents, consulting with the Soros
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Most Shaniefial Sham Trial of 30 Years - Iran Press Watch http://www .iratcresswatch .org /post /4937
Foundation, which pursues the soft overthrow of the Iranian government, propaganda
against the regime, disrupting public order by participating in chaos, disorderly conduct
and creating terror and fear in society.
Commenting on his soft overthrow activities, this defendant said, “Another instance of this
is Mr. Mohammad Atrianfar's (a figure close to Hashemi Rafsanjani) trip to New York City
on the Soros Foundation's invitation, and his meeting with the person of Soros, who is the
considered to be the main contact between foreign and domestic agents.”
Calls for Dissolution of Mosharekat Party and Mojahedin Enghelab Organization
At yesterday's court session, the prosecutor's representative accused the Mojahedin
Enghelab Organization and Mosharekat Party of involvement in the velvet coup against the
Islamic Republic and attacked their positions as being in line with those of the Islamic
Republic's enemies.
According to the indictment, Mosharekat Party is portrayed as being subservient to the
United States, propagating conspiratorial thoughts, cooperating with foreign and suspicious
elements, engaging in abnormal activities, violating the principles of Islam, and engaging
in treacherous acts against the Iranian people and Islamic Republic regime.
The prosecutor's representative then called for the dissolution of the reformist Mosharekat
Party and Mojahedin Enghelab Organization.
Court Proceedings Are Wrong
At the end of the fourth trial session, Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, a member of the
Mosharekat Party and former president Khatami's spokesperson, made unexpected
statements violating the sham trial organizers' wishes in a surprising manner. He said, “I
think that the court proceedings are following a wrong route and trend. I believe that the
ninth administration's policies and executive methods have been wrong, and if the tenth
administration continues that trend I will continue to oppose it, but will continue to remain
loyal to the Islamic Republic.”
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Most Shaniefial Sham Trial of 30 Years - Iran Press Watch http://www.iratçresswatcltorg'post/4937
Responding to a question about his prison experience, he said, “They told us not to say
anything, but I was in solitary confinement and this is the seventy-fourth day of my
incarceration in solitary conferment.”
Noting that he was arrested on the street and without any warrants, he said, “I disagree
with the general indictment that was read during the first session by the deputy
prosecutor. I disagree with the indictment that wants to pit one political faction against
the regime.”
[ Posted at Roozonline ]
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