Final Ruling Issued in Professor Shajarian’s Complaint After More Than 11 Years; IRIB Acquitted

Hrana News Agency – Mohammad Hossein Aghasi, a lawyer, announced the issuance of a final ruling in the case of Professor Shajarian’s complaint regarding the unauthorized broadcast of his works on IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting). According to this lawyer, the court ruling, issued after 11 years and 4 months from the time of the complaint, stated in an unjustified argument that the then deputy heads of IRIB in radio affairs did not issue broadcast orders and merely failed to prevent the broadcasts. On this basis, Mr. Shajarian can claim compensation from IRIB.

According to Hrana News Agency, the news organ of the Iranian Human Rights Activists Group, Mohammad Hossein Aghasi announced the acquittal of IRIB in the case of Mohammad Reza Shajarian’s complaint regarding the unauthorized broadcast of his works.

Mohammad Hossein Aghasi, the lawyer defending Mohammad Reza Shajarian regarding the court of appeals decision, told Hrana: “In the issued ruling of the court of appeals, it is stated that the publication of Professor Shajarian’s works on IRIB from June 2004 onwards is covered by statute of limitations, and the works that were broadcast on IRIB from June 2004 until the date of filing the complaint (June 2009) constitute a crime.”

Mohammad Hossein Aghasi, stating that the court in an unjustified argument claimed that Mr. Mohammad Sofi and Hassan Khajaste, who during this period served as deputy heads of IRIB in radio affairs, did not issue broadcast orders and merely failed to prevent the broadcasts, added: “The court in its ruling stated that the order to broadcast Professor Shajarian’s works was issued by former deputies and continued as such. Mr. Sofi and Khajaste should have prevented its broadcast, which they actually failed to do, and this omission cannot be considered a punishable offense. On this basis, Mr. Shajarian can claim compensation from IRIB.”

Shajarian’s lawyer continued: “This case was deliberately held up for eleven years and four months at various stages and intervals. Among these, one can point to the 47-month delay caused by Abbas Jafari Dowlatabad, the then prosecutor of Tehran. Additionally, the appeals court review process took two years and two months from the time the trial session was held and a ruling was issued. This should have taken only one week. At that time, Massoudi was the judge handling the case, and they delayed the file so much that Mr. Massoudi left that branch and was appointed as head of the economic affairs judicial complex branch, and two other judges issued the ruling. Such instances caused the case review to take 11 years.”

It should be noted that in June 2009, due to the unauthorized broadcast of Professor Shajarian’s works on IRIB, he filed a complaint based on Article 23 of the Law on the Protection of the Rights of Authors, Composers, and Artists with the State Employees’ Prosecutor’s Office.

In this legal article, it is explicitly stated that if someone’s works are published, broadcast, or disseminated without permission, the punishment is 6 months to 2 years imprisonment.

Mohammad Reza Shajarian, who passed away last October, repeatedly and explicitly criticized the Iranian government during the final years of his life and stood beside protesting people in the demonstrations following the 2009 elections.

Source: Hrana