Reporters Without Borders Calls for Arrest of Judge Mansouri in Germany
Reporters Without Borders announced that by filing a complaint with German judicial authorities, it has called for the arrest of Judge Gholamreza Mansouri for suppressing and imprisoning Iranian journalists.
Following the publication of reports about Judge Gholamreza Mansouri being in hiding and his possible presence in one of Germany’s cities, Reporters Without Borders announced on Thursday, June 22, via a tweet that it had submitted its complaint to the German Federal Prosecutor.
Reporters Without Borders, noting that Judge Mansouri issued prison sentences for approximately twenty journalists in Iran in just two months—Bahman and Esfand of 1391—emphasized: the [German] prosecutor should not allow him to escape justice.
A number of other human rights activists and groups have also initiated measures to arrest Judge Mansouri and have announced the results of their efforts.
The name of Gholamreza Mansouri, former judge of the Press Court and former prosecutor of the State, Culture and Media Employees’ Prosecution Office, came up a few days ago during the proceedings of the Akbar Tabari case.
At the first court session of Akbar Tabari held on June 18, the prosecutor’s representative mentioned Gholamreza Mansouri as the ninth defendant and, referring to his accusation of receiving five hundred thousand euros in bribes, stated that he is currently in hiding.
The deputy prosecutor in the next court session also announced that Gholamreza Mansouri went into hiding one month after this case was formed, “but since he left his phone in Iran, we thought he was still there and hadn’t left.”
Following the first court session, a video of Gholamreza Mansouri was published on social media networks in which he says he went abroad to treat his illness and “tomorrow” will go to the Iranian embassy to find a way to return to the country.
Judge Mansouri makes no reference to his current location in this video, but a number of activists have suggested that he is present in Germany.
Christophe Deloire, Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders, who also confirmed that the organization has filed its complaint with the German prosecutor, wrote on his Twitter: Mansouri is “currently in Germany.”
So far, two sessions of the court proceedings on the charges against Akbar Tabari, from senior judicial authorities during the two terms of Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi and Sadegh Amoli Larijani, have been held.
According to the Islamic Republic’s judicial system, this case, whose main charge is “forming a multi-person bribery network,” has 22 defendants and at least four of them have fled outside Iran.
Last year, Hamid Noori, one of the judges who issued death sentences in the 1980s, was arrested while in Sweden, and following extensive measures by a number of activists, including Iraj Mesdaghi and Kaveh Mousavi, this arrest has been extended twice so far.
Source: Radio Farda
