Ibrahim Raisi Changes Tehran’s Prosecutor; A Look at Abbas Jafari Dowlatabad’s Record

Following Ibrahim Raisi’s leadership of Iran’s judiciary, the General and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Tehran was removed from his position after 10 years in office.

Iranian media outlets reported on Monday, the 9th of Ordibehesht, about the change of Tehran’s General and Revolutionary Prosecutor, writing that Abbas Jafari Dowlatabad has been removed from this position and “Ali Ghased Mehr” has been appointed as the General and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Tehran. Ghased Mehr previously served as the head of the Fars Province Judiciary, a position to which Raisi had appointed him.

From Crackdowns After 2009 to Silent Deaths of Prisoners

Abbas Jafari Dowlatabad was appointed to replace Saeed Mortazavi as General and Revolutionary Prosecutor by Sadegh Amoli Larijani following the 2009 election events and the Kahrizak incident.

Nevertheless, judicial treatment of protesters during Jafari Dowlatabad’s tenure as prosecutor continued. The house arrest of leaders of 2009 election protesters, handling of opponents of mandatory hijab, arrests and harsh treatment of Revolution Street girls, and detention of civil and political activists are prominent in Jafari Dowlatabad’s work record.

During his tenure as prosecutor, environmental activists in Iran were arrested. The suspicious death of Kavous Seyed Amami, an environmental activist, in detention and the arrest of other environmental activists for over a year without trial brought significant criticism.

The death of “Sina Qanbari,” a 22-year-old youth who was arrested during December 2017 protests, occurred in detention during Jafari Dowlatabad’s term as prosecutor. A matter that Sina Qanbari’s mother announced one year later—that her son had been killed in prison.

The incident involving treatment of the Gonabadi Dervishes and clashes with these mystics in Golestan Haftom also occurred during his tenure as prosecutor.

The new appointment of Tehran’s General and Revolutionary Prosecutor by Ibrahim Raisi comes at a time when the Head of the Judiciary recently stated in his first speech after being appointed by Ayatollah Khamenei: “Implementation of justice is subordinate to security. The security issue is one that cannot be subject to the slightest overlooking.”

Source: Voice of America