Former President Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s 48-hour ultimatum for the head of the judiciary ended without any sensational disclosures.
Ahmadinejad had threatened on December 17 that if within 48 hours the judiciary did not produce the evidence behind the charges brought against him and his inner circle he would expose the “illegalities” of the judicial branch.
But by the deadline, all Ahmadinejad had done was repeat general accusations against Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani, the head of Iran’s judiciary, calling him a usurper who has repeatedly violated the law.
He also added that Larijani has lost his legitimacy and is not qualified for the job, insisting he must step down.
In the ongoing war of words between the two men, Larijani had asserted earlier that Ahmadinejad had been convicted in a court of law.
Setting a 48-hour ultimatum for the judiciary to publish the evidence behind his conviction, Ahmadinejad had warned, “Otherwise, I will publicly present my findings on the judiciary’s head and his performance during the past eight years.”
Larijani, apparently ignoring the ultimatum, ordered his staff to publish details about the legal cases filed against Ahmadinejad.
As expected, that was not good enough for the former president.
In a new video clip published on December 19, Ahmadinejad reiterated, “Today, we have the right to name the devious [ones] and the seditionists who have illegally used state assets for their own benefit.”
However, the comments were limited to generalities without presenting solid evidence against Larijani.
Nevertheless, Ahmadinejad maintained, “Though I have access to enough information against the head of the judiciary, as a person committed to ethics and laws I am not going to disclose the information for the moment.”
“I avoid commenting on the qualifications required,” he said, “but our chief justice openly and repeatedly commits the greatest sins, i.e. libelous remarks and false accusations against virtuous people.”
“Our chief of justice is devoid of justice,” he continued. “It’s obvious what goes on in the department run by him. People are fed up with unjust and unfair decisions made by certain judicial staff.”
“He has shown obvious signs of incompetence and being illegitimate. Therefore, the continuation of his management is violating the rights of the supreme leader, the Islamic Republic, and the people who are the principle owners of the country and the revolution,” Ahmadinejad concluded.
Larijani’s senior aides and allies responded by branding the former president as a liar and a thug.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the sole authority to appoint or dismiss the head of the judiciary.
So far, Khamenei has done his best to distance himself from the ongoing war of words between Larijani and Ahmadinejad, who is one of his personal representatives on the influential Expediency Discernment Council.
