US State Department Calls Potential Appointment of Raisi as Head of Iran’s Judiciary “Shameful”
A US Deputy Secretary of State has reacted to news of the potential appointment of Ebrahim Raisi as head of Iran’s Islamic Republic judiciary. Robert Palladino described Raisi’s appointment as “shameful” in a Twitter message.
On the US State Department’s Twitter account regarding the potential appointment of one of the members of the “death committee” of the executions in summer 1988 as head of Iran’s Islamic Republic judiciary, it stated: “Ebrahim Raisi, who was involved in #mass executions of political prisoners, has now been selected to lead Iran’s judiciary. It is shameful. This regime mocks the rule of law by conducting unfair trials and maintaining prisons with inhumane conditions. #Iran’s people deserve better than this.”
Yahya Kamalipour, a member of the head council of the parliament’s legal and judicial commission, announced last Sunday, citing “officials of the judicial system,” that Ebrahim Raisi will replace Sadegh Larijani as head on Friday, 17 Esfand. Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, while approving Larijani’s early retirement, responded to his letter dated the second of Esfand by thanking him for “a period of tireless efforts and initiatives full of innovation in the judiciary.”
The announcement of Ebrahim Raisi’s imminent appointment as head of the Astan Quds Razavi to the position of head of Iran’s Islamic Republic judiciary has faced varying reactions. Many human rights organizations and activists have warned against such an appointment. Among them, Iran Human Rights Campaign had called Ebrahim Raisi’s appointment as head of the judiciary on the 30th of Bahman “a major catastrophe in the path of implementing justice in Iran.”
What stands out in this regard is not the support of conservatives for Raisi’s appointment, but particularly the notable welcome from a significant number of so-called reformist forces to his taking the seat of head of Iran’s judicial system. Ahmad Zeidabadi, a reformist journalist and political analyst, linked this welcome to the “manner of” Raisi’s entry into the 2017 presidential campaign.
Source: DW
