Larijani’s appointment to head Iranian judiciary unlikely to stop extralegal prosecutions Commentary
Larijani’s appointment to head Iranian judiciary unlikely to stop extralegal prosecutions
Edited by:

Nema Milaninia [President, Iranian American Bar Association]: "The recent appointment of Ayatollah Sadegh Ardeshir Larijani as the new head of Iran's judiciary is unlikely to remedy the dire judicial and prison conditions prevailing in Iran and exacerbated by recent turmoil following the election. If anything, it is likely to frustrate efforts by the United Kingdom and its allies to secure the release of foreigners and dual-citizens being detained in Iran for political reasons.

Sadegh is one of the Kennedys of Iran. The major difference is that while the Kennedys tilt toward the liberal side of the political spectrum, there is no doubt that the Larijani's rear to the hard, hard right.

Ali Ardeshir Larijani, Sadegh's brother, is the current Speaker of Iran's Parliament and formerly the Secretary of Iran's National Security Council and a Presidential candidate in 2005. Sadegh's other brother is Mohammad Javad Larijiani, the former Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs. After them are Bagher Larijani (the chancellor of Iran's most prestigious medical school) and Fazel Larijiani (Iran's cultural attaché in Ottawa).

Together, the family of five brothers along with their father, a senior cleric in Iran, and their cousin, a prominent rightist politician and member of parliament, have been called one of Iran's "dynasties of power."

Unlike his brothers, however, Sadegh is inexperienced in politics and possesses very little support amongst either the clergy or Iran's legal elite. While Sadegh was a member of Iran's Guardian Council, the political body charged with interpreting Iran's Constitution, he was the quiet member who never engaged a argument and rarely took forceful positions on any matter. Rather his rise to power is in due completely to his obedience to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the perception that he is malleable and can be manipulated.

Yet even despite his obedient personality, Sadegh comes in at a time when Iran's judiciary is dominated by hard-lined clerics and where the prisons and the prosecutors' offices are controlled by members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and the Ministry of Intelligence. This dichotomy in power has effectively allowed Iran's security and paramilitary forces to nullify the power of Iran's courts.

Although Iran's judiciary has legal authority over detention centers, the IRGC and Intelligence office have created secret prisons where political prisoners and prisoners of conscious and opinion are generally held.

In some instances, including in Iran's version of Abu Gharib, Evin prison, the Ministry of Intelligence has even created a "prison within a prison," the notorious Sector 209. In Sector 209, political prisoners and prisoners of conscious in Iran are detained, often in solitary confinement, and tortured if not killed. Thus, despite efforts by Sadegh's predecessor, Ayatollah Seyyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, to prohibit extra-judicial killings through the enactment of tougher regulations, the practice has continued, unabated and without either oversight or transparency.

Despite these dire conditions, Sadegh has already taken steps to emulate hard-line positions supported by the conservative establishment. He has ardently supported recent restrictions dramatically limiting the independence of Iran's Bar Association and allowing judicial officers to disbar Iranian lawyers who may take on controversial clients, including political opponents and human rights defenders. He has also actively preached that the legitimacy of a government is derived by its adherence to Islamic norms and not the popular vote. These positions resonate deeply with hardliners in Iran, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

With current power struggles raging in Iran between members of the IRGC and the conservative cleric establishment, it is unlikely that Sadegh will bridge the gap between the letter and practice of Iranian law. Iran's regulations protecting detainees from torture or arbitrary detention are more or less complete. Yet corruption within the judicial ranks and political cronyism has altogether made the law no more than language without meaning.

Sadegh might be entering the judiciary with the power and influence accompanying the Larijani name. But he is unlikely to take any steps to rock the boat for real judicial or legal change. Today, that power rests in the hands of the IRGC and Iran's intelligence establishment. So long as those responsible for arrests, interrogations, detentions, and prosecutions are controlled by unelected gangs, Larijani is no more than a talking figurehead without the strength or desire needed to reinvigorate the rule of law in Iran."

Opinions expressed in JURIST Commentary are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JURIST's editors, staff, donors or the University of Pittsburgh.