Iran's Judiciary Arrests Its Own Officials On Corruption Charges

Manouchehr Hemmat Najafi, chairman of Rudehen City Council arrested on charges of corruption. File photo

Iran's Judiciary, which President Hassan Rouhani has accused of neglecting major corruption cases, announced that it has arrested a number of the employees of the Judiciary's own Deeds and Properties Organization as well as the chairman of the City Council of Rudehen in Tehran Province on charges of "corruption and embezzlement".

Mizan Online, quoting a statement published by the Judiciary's Media Center, reported on 13 November that in continuation of the Judiciary's drive against internal corruption, the intelligence unit of the Judiciary has simultaneously arrested a number of the employees of the State Deeds and Properties Organization.

According to the report the charges brought against these individuals include "taking huge bribes, forgery, cooperation with profiteers to appropriate public and private property, misusing deeds and documents belonging to individuals and legal entities as well as disrupting and slowing registration procedures in order to take huge bribes."

Another report published by Fars News Agency on the same day quoted Alireza Taqiyan, the head of the Rudehen Judicial District as saying that the chairman of Rudehen City Council has been arrested on charges of embezzlement and bribery. According to the same report Taqiyan also said that so far 25 other individuals have been arrested in connection with a substantial case of unlicensed construction projects in Rudehen.

Details including the number of the arrested employees of the Deeds and Properties Registration Organization and their positions have yet not been disclosed.

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