Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi will leave his post next week, reported Fars news agency on Monday April 29.

The Fars report said that Dolatabadi had asked to be removed from his post as prosecutor and that Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raeesi has approved his request.

The report said, based on indications, Dolatabadi will be replaced by Fars Province Justice Administration Chief Alqasi Mehr.

The handover is likely to take place next week, Fars reported.

Iranian activists reacted with comments on social media and websites that Mehr is known to be a hardliner judge who has endorsed harsh Islamic punishments in the past, such as amputation of limbs.

Dolatabadi has been one of Iran's most hardliner Judiciary officials during the past ten years and is known for passing judgements before trials even took place. He is also known for interventions in the affairs of the legislative and executive branches, while the three bodies of the government in Iran are supposed to be independent of each other, based on the country's Constitution.

Iran's Judiciary head is appointed by the Supreme Leader and during Ali Khamenei's 30-year tenure, they have increasingly followed a tough policy against ordinary crimes such as petty theft and political dissidents, while many cases of corruption have not been followed up.