US State Department calls possible appointment of Raisi to head Iran's judiciary "shameful"
The US Deputy Secretary of State reacted to the news of the possible appointment of Ebrahim Raisi as head of the judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Robert Palladino described Raisi's appointment as "shameful" in a Twitter message.
The US State Department's Twitter account stated regarding the possible appointment of a member of the "Death Committee" of the summer 1988 executions to head the judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran: "Ebrahim Raisi, who was involved in the #mass executions of political prisoners, has now been elected to head the #Iran judiciary. Shameful. This regime makes a mockery of the legal process by creating unfair trials and prisons with inhumane conditions. The #Iranian people deserve better."
Yahya Kamalipour, a member of the presidium of the Islamic Consultative Assembly’s Judicial and Legal Commission, announced last Sunday, citing “judicial officials,” that Ebrahim Raisi will replace Sadegh Amoli Larijani next Friday, March 7. Leader of the Islamic Republic Ali Khamenei, while agreeing to Amoli Larijani’s early resignation, thanked him for “a hard-working period full of action and initiative in the judiciary,” in response to his letter dated March 2.
The announcement of the imminent appointment of Ebrahim Raisi, the “Provost of Astan Quds Razavi,” to the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran has met with mixed reactions. Many human rights organizations and activists have warned against such an appointment. Among them, the Iran Human Rights Campaign on February 20 called Ebrahim Raisi’s appointment as head of the Judiciary “a major disaster in the path of justice in Iran.”
What is most striking is not the support of the fundamentalists for Raisi's appointment, but rather the welcome that a significant number of so-called reformist forces have shown for his appointment as head of Iran's judiciary. Ahmad Zeidabadi, a reformist journalist and political analyst, has linked this welcome to Raisi's "type of entry" into the 2017 election campaign.
Source: DW
