Prominent Iranian journalist and writer Akbar Ganji who spent six years in the prisons of the Islamic republic because of his activities fighting dictatorship and advancing democracy was announced the winner of Cato Institute’s Milton Friedman Liberty prize for 2010. Go to Rooz Online.

Iran’s chairman of the Expediency Council expressed his support for Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of Iran’s late leader Ayatollah Khomeini, and commended his efforts in preserving and publishing his grandfather’s work. Go to original article.

Dubai: He is being subjected to personal attacks and many of his family members have been arrested and threatened with legal action.

Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of the most powerful men in Iran, faces a growing campaign by the conservatives aimed at bringing him closer to their ranks in the political battle with the moderates which erupted after last June’s presidential elections, experts in Iranian affairs said.

“The return of Rafsanjani to the conservative camp will have an impact on the general political, psychological and media status of the camp,” prominent Iranian analyst Ameer Mousavi said.

But as long as Rafsanjani maintains his non-committal position, he represents a “tool [that might be used] against the conservatives,” Mousavi explained to Gulf News.

The Iranian establishment has split over the Green Movement, two of its main pillars are the reformist candidates who lost the elections: Mir Hussain Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi.

The latest move against Rafsanjani came from parliament, immediately after several days holiday for Now Rouz (the Iranian New Year.)

Some 233 MPs in the 290-member legislative body recently called for tough measures against the “corrupt” in the country, and asked him to punish all those involved in such activities regardless of their “high rank in the society”, a reference interpreted by some experts as targeting Rafsanjani and his family — a charge Rafsanjani has repeatedly denied.

The call was included in a letter addressed to the Head of the Ministry of Justice, Ayatollah Sadegh Ardishir Larijani. It coincided with unconfirmed press reports saying the spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had ordered the trial of two of Rafsanjani’s children: Faiza and Mahdi…

Go to original article.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, and Expediency Council Chairman Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani with an unidentified cleric (left to right) at a memorial ceremony in Tehran on March 23, 2009.

March 31, 2010

By Mazyar Mokfi, Charles Recknagel

This month, security services arrested Rafsanjani’s grandson, Hassan Lahooti, then released him again. A Revolutionary Court later accused Lahooti, whose phone was tapped, of criticizing the supreme leader.

Similarly, security services this month arrested and released Rafsanjani’s brother-in-law, Hussein Marashi, on charges of corruption.

Rafsanjani’s grandson, Hassan Lahouti, has been accused of insulting the supreme leader.

The arrests continue a pattern of harassment of Rafsanjani’s family members that included detaining Rafsanjani’s daughter at the height of the Green Movement protests. His daughter, Faiza Hashemi, had condemned the police’s use of force against demonstrators.

In the face of such attacks, Rafsanjani — who is famous for working behind the scenes — has said little. But this month, he appeared on his personal website to deliver the closest he has come yet to a public rebuke of Iran’s President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.

Using the carefully coded language of the Iranian clerical establishment, he asserted that “the voices of those with fossilized mentalities can be heard much more loudly today than they were during the Islamic Revolution.”

Go to Radio Free Europe.

What is the shark hinting to between the lines?

See More.

Iran has released on bail a grandson of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani after he expressed “regret” for taking part in post-election protests, an Iranian news agency reported on Tuesday.

Hassan Lahouti was detained by security police on Sunday at Tehran airport after arriving on a flight from abroad.

“After some investigations and after he expressed regret over his actions, he was released from prison on bail,” Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency.

Lahouti’s grandfather, who heads the powerful Assembly of Experts, is still a powerful player in the ruling establishment.

A source close to the family had told Fars that Lahouti, believed to be in his 20s, left the country last year days after the presidential vote in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected. Go to Reuters.

Although Mr. Lahouti has not been officially charged, a family member said, he had been told by his prison handlers that he was accused of insulting the supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during telephone conversations with his family in Iran. “Hassan’s arrest is aimed at putting pressure on Faezeh,” said the family member. “They want to force her to become silent and I don’t think it will happen.”

The opposition Web site Jaras reported that Mr. Lahouti had been taken to Section 209 of the notorious Evin Prison, where political prisoners are housed.

A court has also summoned Mr. Rafsanjani’s son, Mehdi Hashemi, who supported the opposition leader Mir Hussein Moussavi in the presidential election of 2009.

Mr. Rafsanjani lost badly to Mr. Ahmadinejad in the 2005 presidential elections, as many reformist voters chose to stay home. At the time, Mr. Rafsanjani complained of irregularities in the vote, but refused to press further on those charges. But the animosity that developed over the election has never gone away.

During his election campaign in 2005, Mr. Ahmadinejad raised corruption charges against Mr. Rafsanjani’s sons during a nationally televised debate.

TEHRAN, Iran – Iranian authorities detained the grandson of former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the most powerful opposition supporter inside the country’s clerical leadership, a news agency reported Monday.

Hasan Lahouti was arrested at Tehran airport upon arrival from London late Sunday, the semiofficial Fars news agency said. It did not give a reason for his detention.

Rafsanjani has come under harsh criticism from hard-liners for his support of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi in his challenge to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who the opposition says won June elections by fraud. Rafsanjani, who serves as president in the early 1990s, heads a powerful clerical political council that has the power to chose the country’s supreme leader.

Lahouti’s mother, Faezeh — Rafsanjani’s youngest daughter — has also been a prominent participant in opposition protests since the election.

The Iranian government has arrested thousands and put more than 100 opposition figures on trial in a crackdown aimed at crushing the wave of protests sparked by the election controversy. Go to Washington Post.

FP:  Rafsanjani Makes His Move

Iran’s most watched man has finally made his move. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president and the country’s most skilled political operator, had been sending mixed signals since the contentious June election, one day appearing sympathetic with the opposition and the next declaring his loyalty to the regime. Throughout this long political dance, both Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the opposition “green movement” appreciated that securing the allegiance of Rafsanjani, a key player in Iranian politics since the Islamic Revolution, would represent a significant victory.

Now, Rafsanjani appears to have decided to place his bets with Khamenei. And it turns out that Rafsanjani’s cultivated reputation for independence might be exactly what the supreme leader needs right now.

Zamaneh:  Iranian reformist group issues government failing report card

Iranian reformist group, Mujahedin of the Islamic Revolution issued a statement at the threshold of the Iranian New Year describing the events of the passing year as tragic adding that Ahmadinejad government has deprived people both from freedom and economic prosperity.

Khordaad88:  Mousavi’s Speech to Members of the Islamic Participation Front

Our Constitution evidently stresses and concentrates on the right to organize social gatherings and form [social/political] parties and organizations. Some people mistakenly assume that such organizations are gifts awarded to the people by the government. We mistakenly believe that these organizations should be shaped by the government and delivered to the people while this, [in fact], is a social demand and its prevalence results in a healthy society. The government should not ban these activities. If the government did not place such severe pressure on people and allowed them to be politically active and form organizations—without fear of prosecution—then there would be no need to have demonstrations in the streets. Furthermore, if the government did not use such severe violence and trample on people’s rights, then everyone would remain calm and peaceful during those demonstrations. Unfortunately, over the past nine months, the authorities have been extremely violent towards the protesters and have ignored their rights—this has cost the people dearly. They have truly paid a great price in the violence that we have witnessed.

Rooz:  Democracy Is Not Extractable from Islam

Dr. Soroush. You said you are politically secular.  The main issue seems to be about the separation of church and state anyway.  So what is the disagreement among our intellectuals about?

Abdolkarim Soroush (Soroush):  In reality there is no disagreement.  Perhaps some want to create one.  I introduced the concept of “political and philosophical secularism” for this very reason, to resolve any apparent disagreement and to demonstrate in what sense we are secular, and in agreement with others, and in what sense we are not secular.  But the issue that has emerged, especially outside the country, is that a lot of people who claim to be seculars, are secular in belief too; meaning they have no belief in religion or faith.  Of course, they are free to have such beliefs, but when only those people become the defenders of secularism, secularism takes on a dangerous meaning for the Iranian society.  There is the impression that secularism means denouncing religion and faith.  This delusion and error must be corrected.

TB:  What’s next–the ‘Persian’ Gulf?

The collective denunciation of Chaharshanbeh Souri is clearly a measure taken to ensure that the authority of the Islamic Republic remains unchallenged. The regime can pretend to have the backing of “the people” for only so long. When every significant celebration or other public event in the country is turned into a protest during which ever greater numbers of Iranians are arrested, the legitimacy of the regime’s actions inevitably falls under question by even its staunchest supporters.

For now, the attack on Persian custom is limited to Chaharshanbeh Souri. There is, as yet, no sign that officials intend to impose a ban on all such traditions — they have had 31 years of opportunity if that was the primary goal. In the words of Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi, “The Chaharshanbeh Souri ceremony is a superstitious act and baseless, and pious and sensible Muslims will stay away from it. But many other Eid [Nowruz] festivities are reasonable, beneficial, and good.”

However, the rulers of the Islamic Republic will stop at nothing to remain in power, as the events of recent months have proved. Survival is the bottom line. If the survival of the regime means banning an ancient festival to prevent the opposition from raising its voice, so be it. If, in the future, maintaining their hold on power necessitates giving up the “Persian” in the Persian Gulf, it is not hard to imagine that they will readily find religious justification for informing us that the Persian Gulf was Arab all along. In the Islamic Republic, the ends always justify the means.

Guardian:  Those who say history will absolve the Iraq warmongers are deluded Henry Porter writes:  If you argue that last week’s election proved the war was right, you are stepping over 100,000 bodies

Domestic:

RadioZamaneh:  Moderate cleric urges Iranian students to continue expressing their demands Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani announced that he does not believe students should remain silent in political matters but rather try to communicate their demands in a “logical” manner in order to achieve reform.

Khabar:  Guardian Council to probe Iran flag color change At the last session of Iran’s Guardian Council in the current Iranian year (ends on March 20) held today, the speaker of the entity, Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei answered the questions raised by the journalists.   He said that if a trustable evidence is provided on the national flag color change at the recent state ceremonies, the council will probe the issue.”

There’s a new move afoot to get Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani back to the pulpit during Tehran’s Friday prayers.

According to a report Wednesday in the reformist daily newspaper Bahar (in Persian), the dean of Tehran’s elite Imam Sadegh University (where many of the leaders of Iran’s intelligence and security apparatus get trained) got the ball rolling in a speech last week.

“I still listen to Mr. Rafsanjani,” Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani, the dean, said along the sidelines of an Islamic unity conference. “Those who want to omit Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani are not important.”

Bahar reported Wednesday that sources close to the government have given word that Rafsanjani is set to return to the Friday prayers, where he has been absent since a momentous July 17 sermon sparked a massive anti-government protest. Since the revolt, Rafsanjani was cut from the Friday prayers roster, a move which signaled the refusal of the hard-line administration to tolerate the slightest hint of political dissent.

But that seems to be over.

“The absence of Hashemi Rafsanjani is over,” the article quoted a pro-government website as saying.

The article said “the suggestion to return Rafsanjani has been met with pro and counter-arguments” but that it is seriously being considered. Go to LA Times.

According to IRNA, the Islamic Republic’s News Agency, the Iranian justice system has filed cases against Faezeh and Mehdi Hashemi, two children of Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani. In an interview with IRNA March 10, Alireza Avaie, the highest ranking judicial official in the province of Tehran, announced that cases have been filed in the General Court and in the Revolutionary Court to address accusations against Mehdi and Faezeh Hashemi.

Mr. Avaie said that these actions are in the interest of the regime and no one should be above the law. Earlier, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ezhei, Iran’s chief prosecutor, had said that Iran’s courts would investigate any cases against Rafsanjani’s children if there are any complaints filed against them.

Mehdi and Faezeh Hashemi are accused of fomenting riots in Tehran following the disputed June 12 election. Faezeh Hashemi participated in a few anti-government demonstrations and she was briefly detained by unknown security forces for a short period of time. Mehdi Hashemi left Iran last summer, shortly after the government accused him of supporting Mir Hossein Moussavi’s campaign. Mehdi Hashemi is also accused of having played a role in organizing what the government calls “riots” in Tehran—a reference to the ongoing protests.

Some analysts believe that pro-government forces in the judiciary with close ties to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps are uneasy about Rafsanjani’s recent rapprochement with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. It is believed that Ahmadinejad and hardliners in the IRGC fear that a close partnership between Khamenei and Rafsanjani would jeopardize their political power; therefore, these hardliners seek to discredit Rafsanjani and his family by charging two members of his family.

Ayatollah Rafsanjani has not taken a position on the judiciary’s recent statement regarding his children, but at an event in Mashhad two months ago, Mr. Rafsanjani asserted that his son had nothing to worry about and would return to Iran if he was summoned by the courts.

Go to Inside Iran.

IND:  What are Rafsanjani’s intentions going forward?  Who knows but as the say a picture is worth a thousand words.

.

High-ranking Iranian officials and a number of foreign diplomats met with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei March 4 in a ceremony held to celebrate the birth of Prophet Mohammad. For the first time since the disputed June 12 election, both Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, the chairman of the Expediency Council, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appeared under one roof.

For the past nine months, Ahmadinejad has refused to attend the Expediency Council meetings chaired by Rafsanjani. Meanwhile, Rafsanjani did not appear at Ahmadinejad’s inauguration this past summer and has shied away from any high-level government ceremony in which Ahmadinejad was present.

During his presidential campaign, Ahmadinejad accused Rafsanjani of being the leader of organized efforts against him and claimed that Mir Hossein Moussavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and former President Mohammad Khatami worked around the Rafsanjani nucleus. Ahmadinejad’s supporters have waged one of the most intense rhetorical campaigns against Rafsanjani and his family in the past nine months. Pro-government sources accuse Mehdi Hashemi, Rafsanjani’s oldest son, and Faezeh Hashemi, Rafsanjani’s fourth child, of having organized “illegal” demonstrations in the aftermath of the June 12 election.

Last week in an interview with Fars News, a pro-government news site with close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Morteza Bakhtiari, the minister of justice, said that the Ministry has finally filed cases for Rafsanjani’s children to investigate their alleged involvement in post-election unrest in Tehran.

On February 25, Ayatollah Khamenei met with members of the Assembly of Experts, chaired by Rafsanjani. Many observers interpreted Rafsanjani’s affectionate gestures towards Khamenei as a sign that a backdoor deal has been reached and moderate conservatives led by Rafsanjani were returning to the fold. Rafsanjani’s appearance today strengthens suspicions that he has reached a rapprochement with Khamenei and the Supreme Leader is willing to allow moderate conservatives to have a more significant role in running the country.

For instance, Rafsanjani has started deliberations on a significant and controversial piece of legislation in the Expediency Council which would reduce the powers of the Guardian Council in regards to elections. According to Rafsanjani, the Supreme Leader asked the Expediency Council to address shortcomings in the existing law, therefore giving him the prerogative to handle this issue.

It appears that the Supreme Leader is wary of the increasing political influence he granted to the pro-Ahmadinejad faction and the IRGC. In order to create a balance of power in Iran, Khamenei is now seeking to include moderate conservatives in the game while striving to eliminate the reformists and the Green Movement represented by Moussavi and Karroubi. Go to Inside Iran.