TEHRAN — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Tuesday criticized the judiciary over the arrest of his close ally and ex-Tehran prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi, amid a brewing political fight between state branches. Mortazavi was arrested late Monday and transferred to Tehran's notorious Evin prison, where many political prisoners and journalists have been imprisoned over years on his orders, according to media reports. The office of Tehran's prosecutor did not give any reason for the arrest. Speaking to reporters before departing for Egypt, Ahmadinejad termed the arrest a “very ugly action,” saying he would pursue Mortazavi's fate after returning from his three-day visit, the official IRNA news agency reported. Mortazavi was suspended in August 2010 along with two other judges over the death in prison of three anti-government protesters in the aftermath of the 2009 presidential election that re-elected Ahmadinejad. A parliamentary probe found him responsible for sending protesters to Kahrizak, a detention center south of Tehran, and demanded that he be punished. That case is still under investigation. Mortazavi was at the center of a raucous parliamentary session Sunday when the bad blood between Iran's government and parliament spilled into open with Ahmadinejad accusing Speaker Ali Larijani and his family of nepotism and corruption. Larijani and his four brothers who have held top positions in the regime form one of Iran's most influential political families. Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani heads the judiciary. Ahmadinejad on Sunday played a recording in which a voice said to be of one of Larijani brothers, Fazel, allegedly attempts to bribe Mortazavi by asking for a favor in exchange for political support of both parliament and the judiciary. On Tuesday, Ahmadinejad renewed the verbal assault. “The judiciary is not a special organization (to serve) a family,” he said in an allusion to the Larijanis. “A person has committed an offense and instead another person who exposed the offense is confronted. This is very ugly,” Ahmadinejad said. Fazel Larijani, an ex-diplomat who now heads a branch of the Islamic Azad University, has rejected the accusations. He said he would file a complaint against Ahmadinejad, according to media reports. Other Larijani brothers Mohammad Javad and Bagher Larijani also run important organizations in Iran. — Agencies
