German Prosecutors Confirm Receipt of Complaint Against Shahroudi

German prosecutors say they have received a complaint against Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, head of the Expediency Discernment Council, who is currently undergoing treatment in Hanover.

A spokesperson for German prosecutors confirmed on December 10 that a former lawmaker from that country submitted a complaint centered on “crimes against humanity” against Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi during his tenure as head of Iran’s Judiciary.

The complaint was filed by Volker Beck, a former representative from the Green Party.

German prosecutors have not specified when a decision will be made on the possible issuance of an order to execute the complaint.

The Jerusalem Post also reported that the “Lower Saxony” prosecutor’s office, where the city of Hanover is located, is reviewing the criminal complaint against Mr. Shahroudi.

Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, who has not been seen in public gatherings and sessions of the “Expediency Discernment Council” for some time, recently traveled to Germany for treatment.

Initial reports about Mr. Shahroudi’s travel to Germany were confirmed by the country’s government on December 9. Berlin stated that this senior Islamic Republic official sought treatment in the country due to a “serious illness” and approved the request based on “valid medical reasons.”

Shortly after, Shahroudi’s presence in Germany attracted attention. Between 1999 and 2009, by order of Iran’s Islamic Republic leader, he served two consecutive terms as head of Iran’s Judiciary. There has been extensive international criticism of the Judiciary’s performance in matters such as widespread executions, treatment of citizens, political protesters, civil and social activists, members of different faiths, and similar issues.

Volker Beck, the political figure who filed the complaint with German prosecutors, told the Jerusalem Post that over Hashemi Shahroudi’s ten-year tenure as head of the Judiciary, more than two thousand executions were recorded in Iran, many of which were based on charges such as “enmity against God” or religious or ethnic reasons. Mr. Beck also spoke of the “apparent contradiction” of some executions with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as various instances of torture.

German newspaper Bild wrote two days ago in its front-page headline: “Iran’s Death Judge, Luxury Patient in Germany.”

On December 8, dozens of protesters gathered outside the hospital where Shahroudi is admitted, demonstrating against his presence in Germany.

Mr. Shahroudi himself, when he took over as head of the Judiciary, severely criticized the institution and said he had received “ruins.” He has yet to respond to the charges against him.

Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi was born in Najaf, Iraq, and is currently 69 years old. After the Islamic Revolution of February 1979, he came from Najaf to Iran and, by establishing the “Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq,” fought against Saddam Hussein’s government. Mr. Shahroudi was a member of the Guardian Council and the fourth head of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic. Since last summer, a few months after the death of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, he was appointed as head of the Expediency Discernment Council.

Source: Radio Farda