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| Mahmoud Ahmadinejad summoned to criminal court | |
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| Iran's outgoing president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has been summoned to a criminal court in Tehran to answer unspecified charges following the victory of the moderate cleric Hassan Rouhani in Friday's presidential election. | Iran's outgoing president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has been summoned to a criminal court in Tehran to answer unspecified charges following the victory of the moderate cleric Hassan Rouhani in Friday's presidential election. |
| Local news agencies on Monday published a copy of the summons issued by judicial authorities demanding that Ahmadinejad appear before the court in November, a few months after he has handed over the Iranian presidency to Rouhani. It revealed little except that a lawsuit had been lodged by the parliamentary speaker, Ali Larijani. | Local news agencies on Monday published a copy of the summons issued by judicial authorities demanding that Ahmadinejad appear before the court in November, a few months after he has handed over the Iranian presidency to Rouhani. It revealed little except that a lawsuit had been lodged by the parliamentary speaker, Ali Larijani. |
| The news, initially announced by the government website dolat.ir, was the latest in a series of bruising setbacks for Ahmadinejad, who has fallen foul of his erstwhile patrons and lost a great deal of influence in Iranian politics. | The news, initially announced by the government website dolat.ir, was the latest in a series of bruising setbacks for Ahmadinejad, who has fallen foul of his erstwhile patrons and lost a great deal of influence in Iranian politics. |
| "Appear in court following the complaint lodged against you by the head of parliament's Article 90 committee as well as Ali Larijani, the head of the parliament and Mr Yaghoub Khalilnejad," read the summons published by the semi-official Fars news agency. | "Appear in court following the complaint lodged against you by the head of parliament's Article 90 committee as well as Ali Larijani, the head of the parliament and Mr Yaghoub Khalilnejad," read the summons published by the semi-official Fars news agency. |
| The government's website said the charges were not specified. Rouhani himself has nothing to do with the lawsuit but the timing showed Ahmadinejad's parliamentary rivals had waited until the election was over before making their complaint public. Ahmadinejad is scheduled to hand over Iran's presidency to Rouhani in early August, when the president-elect will be sworn in. | The government's website said the charges were not specified. Rouhani himself has nothing to do with the lawsuit but the timing showed Ahmadinejad's parliamentary rivals had waited until the election was over before making their complaint public. Ahmadinejad is scheduled to hand over Iran's presidency to Rouhani in early August, when the president-elect will be sworn in. |
| In February, Ahmadinejad and Larijani engaged in a public spat at the highest levels of the Islamic republic when the president played a secretly filmed tape in a public session that implied the speaker's brother was financially corrupt. | In February, Ahmadinejad and Larijani engaged in a public spat at the highest levels of the Islamic republic when the president played a secretly filmed tape in a public session that implied the speaker's brother was financially corrupt. |
| In a dramatic sequence of events that marked the climax of the power struggle between Ahmadinejad and his conservative rivals in parliament, Ahmadinejad's tape showed Larijani's brother, Fazel, allegedly trading on his sibling's influence for financial gain in a conversation with Saeed Mortazavi, the caretaker of Iran's social welfare organisation. | In a dramatic sequence of events that marked the climax of the power struggle between Ahmadinejad and his conservative rivals in parliament, Ahmadinejad's tape showed Larijani's brother, Fazel, allegedly trading on his sibling's influence for financial gain in a conversation with Saeed Mortazavi, the caretaker of Iran's social welfare organisation. |
| "These are audio and video, and the tape is clear," said Ahmadinejad at the time. "If the honourable parliament speaker sees fit, we can turn over the 24 to 25 hours of recordings to you." A few minutes of a barely audible tape were played as millions of Iranians listened to the extraordinary parliamentary session live on national radio. | "These are audio and video, and the tape is clear," said Ahmadinejad at the time. "If the honourable parliament speaker sees fit, we can turn over the 24 to 25 hours of recordings to you." A few minutes of a barely audible tape were played as millions of Iranians listened to the extraordinary parliamentary session live on national radio. |
| "It was a good thing that you showed this to let people learn about your character," Ali Larijani retorted at the time. | "It was a good thing that you showed this to let people learn about your character," Ali Larijani retorted at the time. |
| Larijani's brother, Fazel, denied the accusations and threatened to sue him but the incident was enough to tarnish the speaker's image. When Ali Larijani delivered a speech in the holy city of Qom shortly after the incident, he was met with angry crowds who threw shoes at him and shouted slogans. | Larijani's brother, Fazel, denied the accusations and threatened to sue him but the incident was enough to tarnish the speaker's image. When Ali Larijani delivered a speech in the holy city of Qom shortly after the incident, he was met with angry crowds who threw shoes at him and shouted slogans. |
| Last month, Ahmadinejad accompanied his close confidant and former chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, to the interior ministry as the latter registered his name as a candidate in the election. However, Iran's constitutional body, the Guardian Council, disqualified him without giving a reason. Conservatives close to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have accused Mashaei of undermining clerical power by advocating nationalism and putting Iran ahead of Islam. Ahmadinejad, however, has stood by him | Last month, Ahmadinejad accompanied his close confidant and former chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, to the interior ministry as the latter registered his name as a candidate in the election. However, Iran's constitutional body, the Guardian Council, disqualified him without giving a reason. Conservatives close to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have accused Mashaei of undermining clerical power by advocating nationalism and putting Iran ahead of Islam. Ahmadinejad, however, has stood by him |
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