Khamenei: Management of the Iranian Broadcasting Corporation and the Judiciary is not under the leadership
A student's outspoken criticism of the institutions under his control, economic conditions, and political freedoms at the Supreme Leader's iftar ceremony prompted a response from Ayatollah Khamenei, who said he had no role in managing the Iranian Broadcasting Corporation or the judiciary.
In a meeting with a group of students on Monday evening (May 28/June 27), Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei responded to some criticism by saying that although the heads of the judiciary and the Iranian Broadcasting Corporation are appointed by him, he does not manage their performance.
He stated: "The management of institutions such as the armed forces is with the leadership, but in the judiciary and the Iranian Broadcasting Corporation, even though their heads are appointed by the leadership, their management is not with the leadership. For example, I have always had and continue to have a critical stance on various issues when dealing with the Iranian Broadcasting Corporation, both under the current and previous managements."
Ayatollah Khamenei considered the main solution to resolving "defects and problems" in some government institutions, such as the Iranian Broadcasting Corporation, to be "injecting young, active, faithful, and motivated elements into these institutions."
In this three-hour meeting, Sahar Mehrabi, the representative of the responsible managers in the Central Council for Oversight of Academic Publications of the Ministry of Science, expressed sharp and explicit criticisms of the political, social, and cultural situation in the country, which was unprecedented in the presence of the Leader of the Islamic Republic, considering previous similar meetings.
In his long list of criticisms and protests, this student pointed out, among other things, "the weakening of legal structures through the creation of parallel political-security institutions, illegal interference by military-security forces in the duties of the nation's elected institutions, the violation of the people's right to choose by denying discretionary powers, and the extralegal interference of the judiciary in the duties of other powers," and considered the result of this situation to be "the increasing weakening of the nation's sovereignty."
He also criticized the restriction of civil liberties, saying: "The restriction of civil rights and freedoms to form political associations and trade unions, the violation of the right to hold assemblies, the repeated violation of the right to freedom of expression, the increasing restriction of the right to free access to information by implementing illegal filtering and dealing with the press, have all created an environment in which civil and legal protest, as a simple and possible option, has been removed from the reach of citizens."
Reference to "illegal detention"
In her remarks, Sahar Mehrabi criticized the performance of the judiciary, calling "violations of the right to a fair trial, repeated violations of the rights of defendants, such as the right to defense or access to a lawyer," as well as "arbitrary restrictions on the freedom of individuals, such as eight years of illegal detention," examples of "violations of basic human rights."
He also pointed out the impossibility of investigating and investigating some institutions under the leadership of the Leader, and named institutions such as the Revolutionary Guards, the Iranian Broadcasting Corporation, and the Mostazafan Foundation, calling this situation problematic.
The student addressed the Leader of the Islamic Republic: "This is a serious question: What is your response to the questions, criticisms, and protests of the people, as the head of the government who is responsible for the executive institutions, or the head of the judiciary who has supervisory and judicial powers, or as Your Excellency, who some consider the powers stipulated in Article 110 of the Constitution to be the limit of your powers?"
Source: DW
