International Federation of Journalists Also Calls for Prosecution of Gholamreza Mansouri, Fugitive Judge of the Islamic Republic
The International Federation of Journalists has called for legal prosecution against Gholamreza Mansouri, a judge in the Islamic Republic’s judicial system who was recently named as a fugitive defendant in a court hearing on charges against the former deputy executive of the judiciary, in Romania.
The International Federation of Journalists on Monday, June 26, in solidarity with Iranian journalists, requested Romanian authorities to prosecute judge Mansouri in Romania for his actions threatening the freedom and rights of journalists, without extraditing him to Iran.
Anthony Bellanger, Secretary General of the International Federation of Journalists, referring to the fact that crimes against journalists cannot go unpunished, said: “We, along with several journalists’ associations and groups, are asking the Romanian government and prosecutor not to extradite judge Mansouri to Iran and to respond to the requests of victimized journalists by subjecting him to legal prosecution for human rights violations.”
Anthony Bellanger, emphasizing that “now is the time for justice,” says that many journalists have condemned this judge for human rights violations and actions against the media and journalists.
Earlier, Christophe Deloire, Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders, on Saturday, June 24, in a tweet referring to the identification of Gholamreza Mansouri in Bucharest, wrote that if Romania prevents the departure of this “torturer,” it would be an honor for that country, and announced that this international organization defending journalists’ rights formally filed a complaint against this judge of the Islamic Republic’s judicial system with Romanian prosecutors.
According to Voice of America, just hours after the announcement of the name of Gholamreza Mansouri, the judge of the execution of Lavasan county, in the court hearing on charges against the former deputy executive of the judiciary, as a fugitive defendant, a number of journalists in Iran, including Akbar Montajebi and Pourya Aalami, recalled that this judge, who for some time was a prosecutor in one of the branches of the Culture and Media Court and head of that prosecutor’s office, in the late 1980s and early 1990s was responsible for dealing with a number of media outlets and journalists.
On the other hand, “Jaam TV” also announced in a published statement that judge Mansouri held the entire family of Saeed Karimian, the network’s director, hostage to shut down this network. The Jaam network also wrote that pressure on the families of this media’s personnel in Iran continued and ultimately led to the assassination of Saeed Karimian in 2017.
Reza Moayeni, head of the Iran and Afghanistan section of Reporters Without Borders, also told Voice of America on Friday, June 23, that the organization submitted a complaint to the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office and asked that authority not to allow Gholamreza Mansouri, who is living in Europe, to escape the grip of justice.
According to Mr. Moayeni, this complaint concerns the suppression, arrest, and imprisonment of nearly 20 journalists in the months of Bahman and Esfand of 2012 who were arbitrarily arrested, subjected to pressure, and transferred to solitary cells.
Radio Farda also reported on Saturday that a court in Bucharest, Romania postponed the decision on the extradition of judge Gholamreza Mansouri until July 10 (July 30) and asked Iran to present its documents within this one-month deadline.
The United States has repeatedly condemned systematic financial corruption and the plunder of Iran’s natural resources by officials affiliated with the regime ruling the country, and has considered them among the main causes of Iran’s economic and financial problems. Recently, for example, Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, had tweeted about officials of the Islamic Republic that instead of helping people, they have engaged in corruption.
