Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – April 6, 1998

I worked at home until half past ten in the morning. They brought a safe to replace the existing safe. With chastity, we went to Khatam Al-Anbia Hospital to visit Ayatollah [Sheikh Abul Hassan] Shirazi, the former Friday Imam of Mashhad, and [Ms. Azam Rouhani], the wife of martyr Motahari, and [Ms. Izzat al-Sharia Modares Motlaq], the wife of martyr Beheshti. Mr. Shirazi is almost unconscious and the doctors are not hopeful; They are 84 years old.

I went to the office. I studied until five in the afternoon. Brothers Mohammad and Mohsen asked over the phone the result of the negotiations with Ayatollah Khamenei. I said that it seems that they are not ready to order the release of [Mr. Gholamhossein Karbaschi], the mayor of [Tehran], but they have ordered the case to be dealt with quickly and they do not want to interfere with the outcome of the judgment.

Newspapers have all given priority to the mayor's arrest and many have editorials and analysis. Kihan and Resalat have supported the judiciary, but most of the newspapers are neutral to the mayor and some are neutral. The words are sharp and the foreign media mostly work against the judiciary and fuel the dispute and think it is a big crisis.

The interview of Mr. [Attaullah] Mohajerani, the spokesperson of the government, after a five-hour meeting of the government board, in which all the discussions were on the same issue, and the clear stances against the judiciary and the threat of pursuing information protection violations by the Tehran police force and the judiciary, show the extent of the differences and the depth of the conflict.

Faiza and Fati also came today and asked me to support the mayor. I said that it is not expedient to stand in front of the judiciary; I have actually supported it in the past. In the evening, the news came on the computer that the [Construction] Agents [Party] is planning to invite people to gather in support of the government next Monday. I told Akhvi Mohammad, [Chairman of the Central Council of the Workers' Party], this will be considered an adventure and may have bad effects and consequences. He said that there is also talk of inviting the groups of Khat Imam and he did not know where the decision was made and he was informed through Mr. [Syed Hossein] Marashi. Last night Mr. Mohseni [Ajei], the judge and head of the judicial complex, gave an explanation about the mayor's case during the interview.