Saeed Mortazavi
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Saeed Mortazavi ( fa, سعید مرتضوی, born 26 November 1967) is an Iranian conservative politician, former
judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
and former
prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...
. He was prosecutor of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, and Prosecutor General of
Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
, a position he held from 2003 to 2009. He has been called as "butcher of the press" and "torturer of Tehran" by some observers.Saeed Murtazavi: butcher of the press – and torturer of Tehran?
Jenny Booth and James Hider, 25 June 2009, The Sunday Times.
Mortazavi has been accused of the torture and death in custody of Iranian-
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
photographer Zahra Kazemi by the Canadian government and was named by 2010 Iranian parliamentary report as the man responsible for abuse of dozens and death of three political prisoners at Kahrizak detention center in 2009. He was put on trial in February 2013 after a parliamentary committee blamed him for the torture and deaths of at least three detainees who participated in the protests against President
Mahmud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),
's reelection. On 15 November 2014, he was banned from all political and legal positions for life.


Career and actions

Before his prosecutorial appointment, Mortazavi was a judge. On 18 May 2003 he became prosecutor general of Tehran, a position he held until 29 August 2009. The post had been unfilled for the previous eight years, since Iran abolished prosecutors in 1995. In the intervening years judges performed the prosecutor's role.


Death of Zahra Kazemi

Mortazavi is notable for his involvement in the case of Zahra Kazemi, an
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian-
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
photographer who died in the custody of Iranian officials in 2003. As a judge, Mortazevi was involved in some unknown capacity in Kazemi's interrogation. He was later assigned to investigate the disputed circumstances of her death, although it was subsequently reported that Mortazevi had decided to let a military court perform the investigation. In late 2003, the Iranian Parliament issued a report accusing Mortazavi of trying to cover up Kazemi's death and forcing witnesses to the event to change their stories. Murtazevi strongly denied the accusations, although the
government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
continues to claim that not only did Mortazavi order Kazemi's arrest, but he also supervised her torture and was present when she was killed.


Suppression of press

Mortazavi is often portrayed in the western media as a symbol of problems within the
judicial system of Iran A nationwide judicial system in Iran was first implemented and established by Abdolhossein Teymourtash under Reza Shah, with further changes during the second Pahlavi era. After the 1979 overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty by the Islamic Revolut ...
. It has been reported that Iranians call him the "butcher of the press". As a judge he shut down 60 pro-reform newspapers. In 2004 he was behind the detention of more than 20 bloggers and journalists who were held for long periods of time and forced to sign "confessions" of their "illicit activities".”Iran’s Press 'butcher' to grill reformists"
Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...
25 June 2009
In 2005, journalists reported receiving death threats after testifying about their alleged torture at the command of Mortazevi. In a press conference, Mortazevi denied the journalists had been mistreated while in state custody. Also in 2005, Murtazevi ordered Iran's major
ISPs An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...
to block access to Orkut and other blogging and social networking websites. On 15 February 2008, it was announced that Mortazavi had
banned A ban is a formal or informal prohibition of something. Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some bans in commerce are referred to as embargoes. ''Ban'' is also used as a verb similar in meaning ...
five Iranian websites that comment on politics and current events. Mortazevi was quoted as saying they were "poisoning the electoral sphere" in advance of Iran's mid-March parliamentary elections.


United Nations visit

In 2006, Mortazavi was sent to
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
as part of the Iranian delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council, a decision that was met with some criticism at home and abroad, due to Mortazavi's controversial human rights record.
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
urged Iran to remove him from the delegation, and other countries to decline to meet with the Iranian delegation until his removal. Mortazevi's first official meeting was with the also-controversial
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
an minister of justice Patrick Chinamasa. Mortazavi took advantage of his position on the delegation to advocate the right of access to high technology, including nuclear power, for all nations. He also warned the council that it should avoid being manipulated into doing the bidding of powerful states, and that it should investigate human rights abuses perpetrated by western powers, notably human rights abuses in the
War on Terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international Counterterrorism, counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campa ...
,
extraordinary rendition Extraordinary rendition is a euphemism for state-sponsored Kidnapping, forcible abduction in another jurisdiction and transfer to a third state. The phrase usually refers to a United States-led program used during the War on Terror, which had t ...
,
Islamophobia Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...
, criticism of the Islamic dress code and veil, and the suppression of the freedom of speech of Holocaust deniers.


Student protesters

In 2009, it was reported that Mortazavi had detained students due to protest against
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),
's government; the students alleged abuse while in jail. He has been involved in more contentious cases since then as well. Mortazavi was a prosecutor on the cases of
Roxana Saberi Roxana Saberi (born April 26, 1977) is an American CBS News correspondent and former Miss North Dakota pageant winner. In 2009, she was held prisoner in Iran's Evin Prison for 101 days under accusations of espionage. She subsequently wrote a b ...
, an American-Iranian journalist accused of spying, and Iranian-Canadian blogger Hossein Derakhshan, whose posts were critical of the establishment.


Arrests of 2009 election protesters

During the 2009
election dispute An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...
across Iran, Mortazavi has been active in suppressing the protests. He has signed arrest warrants for reformers, such as Saeed Hajjarian, and is believed to be instrumental in the more than 600 arrests that have occurred across the nation. In early 2010 the Iranian parliament released a report identifying Saeed Mortazavi as "the main culprit in the scandal" over the Kahrizak detention center. The report stated that 147 prisoners arrested for participating in
demonstrations Demonstration may refer to: * Demonstration (acting), part of the Brechtian approach to acting * Demonstration (military), an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought * Demonstration (political), a political rally or prote ...
against irregularities in the 2009 election of President
Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),
had been "held in a 70-square-metre room for four days without proper ventilation, heating and food on Mortazavi's orders". Three of the inmates died, including
Mohsen Rouhalamini Mohsen Rouholamini ( fa, محسن روح‌الامینی ;20 May 1984 – July 2009) was a graduate student in the computer engineering department at the University of Tehran. He died in July 2009 at the Kahrizak detention center following his ar ...
, the son of a "distinguished government scientist." Mortazavi had maintained that the prisoners had "died from meningitis" and that "inoculation kits had been sent to detention centres" to stop the condition from spreading. This claim was dismissed by an examining doctor,
Ramin Pourandarjani Ramin Pourandarjani (9 June 1983 – 10 November 2009) was an Iranian physician who examined prisoners wounded and killed during the 2009 Iranian election protests. Pourandarjani was born on 9 June 1983 to a middle class family in a northwestern di ...
, who refused to certify it as the cause of death until he was arrested and forced to do so. Pourandarjani later died mysteriously after being charged with failing to properly treat the prisoners. The report rejected Mortazavi claim. The report however also "strongly rejected" reports that rape or sexual assault had taken place in the prison. Opposition websites have reported rapes at the prison including the rape of a pro-government photographer, Saeed Sadaghi, which allegedly led to the closing of the prison. Sadaghi is said to have been accidentally swept up in the mass arrests and held at Kahrizak after which he complained to Supreme Leader
Khamenei Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei ( fa, سید علی حسینی خامنه‌ای, ; born 19 April 1939) is a Twelver Shia ''marja and the second and current Supreme Leader of Iran, in office since 1989. He was previously the third president o ...
of his treatment. Khamenei later closed the prison.Iran's parliament exposes abuse of opposition prisoners at Tehran jail
Robert Tait, 10 January 2010, The Guardian.


Deputy prosecutor-general

On 31 August 2009, Mortazavi was demoted to deputy prosecutor-general – "one of six deputies for prosecutor-general Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i" – by the new judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani. Observers disagree over whether the post was a promotion to "deputy to the nation's top prosecutor," with "a fancy title and protection from future legal action," or "a demotion" that strips him of powers he had enjoyed, such as the ability to order an arrest or halt to political activities. Saeed Mortazavi is facing a potential investigation into his conduct of post vote trials.


Task Force Against Smuggling

In 2010 Mortazavi was appointed head of Iran's Task Force Against Smuggling, shortly after he was discredited by the release of a report by the Iranian parliament naming him as the man largely responsible for abuse of political prisoners committed in July 2009 by state security forces at the Kahrizak detention center. The appointment was seen by some as an example of President
Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),
's loyalty to his "dwindling" band of core supporters.Iran's Bubble Boys
BY GENEIVE ABDO, 29 January 2010


Social Security Organization

Mortazavi was "head of Iran's Social Security Organization", a presidentially-appointed post. In January 2013, Iran's parliament successfully "lobbied to have him removed" from this position, but following that, Ahmadinejad reappointed him as head of the organization in a "caretaker role".


Trial

In late August 2010, Saeed Mortazavi and two judges were suspended from office after a judicial investigation into the deaths of three men from torture detained on his orders following the controversial June 2009 presidential election. This stripped him of his immunity as a member of the judiciary. On 5 February 2013 a statement posted on the Tehran prosecutor's website announced Mortazavi's arrest. Two days later he was released. No explanation was given for either the detention or his release at the time. The trial of Mortazavi and two co-defendants began on 26 February 2013. Charges against Mortazavi and his former deputy Ali Akbar Heydarifar, and former Judge Hassan Zare Dehnavi include unlawful arrest, filing a false report, and assisting in the filing of a false report. "There are conflicting reports on whether the three also face murder charges." On the opening day of proceedings, the presiding Judge—Siamak Modir Khorasani—announced the trial would be held behind closed doors. The lack of transparency of the trial has been criticized by Shirin Ebadi and others. According to Ebadi
The accused in this case, particularly former prosecutor Said Mortazavi, received direct orders from officials above him – including the
Leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...
. Therefore,
he authorities He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
would never dare put him on trial in public."
According to journalists Golnaz Esfandiari and Mohammad Zarghami and other sources, the trial is "widely seen as an indirect move against Ahmadinejad", since he had "used Mortazavi to bring corruption charges against his political rivals" in the past. The arrest came a day after Ahmadinejad "released a secret video in parliament where Mortazavi allegedly discussed a fraudulent business deal, implicating Iran's highly influential
Larijani Larijani may refer to any of five brothers all in Iranian politics, four of whom are listed below: * Ali Larijani, is a doctor and the former Speaker of the Majlis of Iran * Mohammad Javad Larijani, a mathematician and former deputy Foreign Ministe ...
family".


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mortazavi, Saeed 1967 births Living people 20th-century Iranian judges Iranian Islamists Iranian prosecutors 21st-century Iranian judges