The regime's corrupt judges in Iran and the "credibility" of the verdicts they have issued

Widespread corruption in Iran's judiciary has raised many questions these days. Among them, how valid are the sentences issued against journalists by people like Judge Mansouri? Is it possible for Judge Mansouri to be tried in Europe?

Gholamreza Mansouri, the former head of the Culture and Media Prosecution and a former judge of the Lavasanat, who is now known as the “fugitive judge,” has imprisoned many media activists during his service to the Islamic Republic, issued heavy sentences to them, and has a dark record of his work in the Iranian judicial system. Some journalists have referred to his tenure as “the hardest days of the 1990s for their profession.”

Now, with his corruption case being brought up in the trial of high-ranking members of the Iranian judiciary, some Iranian media outlets have raised the question of how valid the sentences issued by a corrupt judge accused of taking a half-million-euro bribe are? Sentences that have cost the lives, careers, and futures of some media activists.

In a report on Sunday, June 15, ISNA News Agency raised the question, "If the accusation of this former judge taking bribes is proven, what will happen to the other cases he investigated, and how is it known in which cases he exerted influence?" ISNA also asks, "If this judge's bribery is proven, what will happen to the lives that may have been destroyed due to his wrongful rulings, or conversely, to those who have unjustly obtained rights and privileges through his rulings?"

It is not only ISNA that has questioned the rulings issued by the likes of Judge Mansouri. On Monday, the newspaper Hamdali also took a similar approach to the Iranian judiciary and the rulings issued by its judges. Hamdali referred to Gholamreza Mansouri as “one of the names that is being heard these days among the long list of financial defendants in the judiciary.”

The newspaper wrote that not only were some newspapers closed down by his ruling and never reopened, but many journalists also “spent many years of their lives behind bars” due to Mansouri’s ruling. “Hamdeli” also mentioned other figures, including investigator Bijan Ghasemzadeh, who has also been accused of financial crimes these days.

Bijan Ghasemzadeh is the person who ordered the filtering of Telegram. “Hamdeli” wrote that with this ruling, at least 40 million Iranians were deprived of using this useful and popular messenger and “many businesses that had been formed using this messenger were closed down.” But even though Bijan Ghasemzadeh is being tried on charges of financial corruption worth billions of tomans, “his decision and sentence are still valid and being implemented, and people’s lives have been affected in some way by his decisions.” The other judge is Saeed Mortazavi. He has the Kahrizak case, in other words, murder and torture, in his record.

Hamdali asked: "Why should the decisions and sentences of a group of criminals who are now in the dock wearing prison uniforms, or are in prison, or have fled the country, still be implemented?"

What do jurists say about the rulings of incompetent and criminal judges?

Some lawyers in Iran have attempted to address this issue and answer the question of whether judgments issued by individuals who are themselves corrupt and without credibility are valid and still enforceable.

Lawyer Saleh Nikbakht told Ensaf News: "If such a judge was the only judge who was influential in issuing a ruling, the ruling is invalid and must be reviewed by other judges; however, if other judges also had an influence on it, the validity of the ruling remains intact."

Mr. Nikbakht further explains: "One of the conditions for judging in Islamic jurisprudence is personal competence, including justice, purity of the case, being a Muslim, etc. If a judge is later prosecuted for any reason and their charges are confirmed in the courts of first instance and appeals or courts of justice, the rulings issued by these judges, provided that he was the only judge effective in that ruling, are not valid in terms of Sharia and lack of competence. This is if he is a judge and decides alone."

Otherwise, according to Saleh Nikbakht, the verdict is valid. In other words, if other judges or authorities are involved in the court process or their verdict is confirmed by another judge, the verdict cannot be overturned.

Abdul Karim Lahiji, a lawyer based in Paris, tells DW Persian about the rulings issued by the Islamic Republic's judicial system:

"From the time Sadeq Khalkhali was appointed as the Sharia ruler in Iran until today, the rulings issued by the Revolutionary Courts do not comply with any of the human rights standards or any of the standards of justice in advanced countries, and they are all examples of oppressive rulings. All those who were responsible for issuing these rulings over the past four decades, or those who appointed people without qualifications as judges or heads of the judiciary, are all responsible, and all of these rulings must be questioned."

Mr. Lahiji points to the current head of the judiciary, Ebrahim Raisi, who is responsible for the murder of thousands of political prisoners, among others. Abdulkarim Lahiji says: “The person who is currently at the head of the judiciary is himself the biggest suspect. So how can we expect this judiciary and this head of the judiciary to bring Mansouri and the Mansouris to justice for their actions? All of them have joint and several responsibility for the crimes they committed in Iran over the past four decades.”

Is it possible to try Judge Mansouri in Europe?

Gholamreza Mansouri is currently in Bucharest and under the watch of the International Police (Interpol). According to the news so far, Interpol arrested him at the request of Iran and then released him on parole. The Romanian judiciary has given the Islamic Republic of Iran until July 10 to submit its evidence to the country's judicial authorities. But it is not only the Islamic Republic that is after Judge Mansouri. More than the Iranian judiciary, it is human rights defenders who are demanding that this person be tried.

Reporters Without Borders has officially filed a complaint with the Romanian prosecutor’s office against Judge Mansouri. Two days ago (June 14), Christophe Delvaert, Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders, called Judge Mansouri a “torturer” on Twitter, and preventing his departure would be an “honor” for Romania. But to what extent do Reporters Without Borders and human rights activists have the power to prevent Gholamreza Mansouri from being extradited to the Islamic Republic?

Abdul Karim Lahiji told DW Persian about the possibility of Mansouri being tried in Europe: "It is true that the member states of the European Union have joined the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court over the past two decades, after the ratification of the Rome Statute, and have accepted the general principles related to international crimes. There is also a principle called the principle of universal jurisdiction that has entered the legal system of these countries. But first, we must note that when we say international crimes, we mean the three crimes foreseen in the Rome Statute: genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes."

According to him, although Judge Mansouri's actions and rulings are completely condemnable from a human rights perspective, the order to close the newspaper does not fall under any of the above. The lawyer points to the issue of torture, and states that if it is proven that the judge "ordered flogging or, for example, cutting off someone's hand, this would be considered torture and could be prosecuted."

In this regard, he refers to the Convention against Torture and adds: "Another issue is the Convention against Torture, which mentions torture as a crime, and that if the torturer is not a citizen of a country and has not committed torture in that country, but is a resident of that country or even a traveler, he can be prosecuted in that country."

According to him, if the principle of universal jurisdiction is accepted in current Romanian regulations and the sentences he has issued constitute torture, "theoretically this person could be brought to justice and tried in Romania."

Source: DW