Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - July 21, 2001 - Hashemi's Observations on the Political Factions and Judiciary, Arrest of Ayatollah Montazeri's Associates, and the Trial of Akbar Ganji

Meeting with the deputies of the Strategic Research Center of the Expediency Discernment Council and listening to the report of Hossein Mehrpour, advisor to the president and head of the oversight board for the implementation of the Constitution regarding the formation of a court for the trial of foreigners.

Formation of the Board of Trustees for Azad University.

Hashemi’s account of the political factions and judiciary issues, the arrest of Ayatollah Montazeri's associates, and the trial of Akbar Ganji.

Full Text of the Daily Entry:

I had a meeting with the deputies of the Strategic Research Center [of the Expediency Discernment Council]. We discussed privatization and the potential benefits and drawbacks of joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Mr. [Hossein] Mehrpour, [a legal expert and head of the oversight board for the implementation of the Constitution], provided a report on preliminary actions to establish a court for the trial of foreigners as a countermeasure against the actions of the United States.

In the afternoon, the Board of Trustees for Azad University held a meeting. We approved the financial statements for the year 1379 (2000). The expenses were approximately 160 billion tomans, which matched the income. We approved a 12% increase in tuition fees for the upcoming year compared to the current year, and several new units and conditions for establishing new units were approved. It was decided that regulations would be prepared for the transfer of students to facilitate the challenges faced by people in provincial cities.

In the newspapers, the debate over the conflicts between the two political factions and the judiciary continues, and the arrests of associates of Ayatollah Montazeri, along with letters and interviews from his children, are receiving wide coverage in foreign media. The conflicting rulings of two appellate courts in the case of [Akbar] Ganji are also a subject of contention, and the U.S. government has supported Ganji in a special program on Voice of America (VOA).

The leaders of the G8, in their final statement from the Genua summit, emphasized the deployment of UN peacekeeping forces to Palestine. During the large-scale protests against the summit, two people were killed, and 500 were injured. Given the repeated vehement public opposition, they decided to hold future summits in isolated small towns.

In Indonesia, following two explosions at a Catholic and an Orthodox church, the Indonesian army was deployed to the streets, essentially to protect the parliamentary session for questioning and to prevent riots from supporters of [Abdul Rahman] Wahid, [the President of Indonesia]. In a speech, he called on the people to remain calm while stating that he is not responsible if the opponents of the government are arrested.