Senior Iranian cleric condemns outside unfluence on judiciary

Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi

Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, senior Iranian Shiite leader condemned external attempts at influencing the judiciary.

In a meeting with the head of the judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi spoke out against forces trying to influence the decisions of the judiciary which according to the senior cleric “are exerted by some government officials as well as people of high means.”

ILNA reports that Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi cited shortage of “effective and committed” forces as one of the problems facing the judiciary and added: “The reputation of the Islamic Republic lies in the judiciary.”

He also called for removal of “red tape” in the judicial process.

In the past ten months thousands of people have been arrested in a crackdown against widespread protests to the allegedly fraudulent re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the presidential elections.

Many of the detainees have been caught up in endless red tape and some are unable to get appropriate information about their files.

Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi also declared that charges of detainees should not be given out to the media before a sentence has been issued. He maintained: “Many issues become a media affair before even reaching trial and the judge cannot make a proper decision in such cases.”

Head of the Judiciary, Sadegh Larijani has been visiting top Shiite clerics in Qom. Yesterday he also visited Ayatollahs Safi Golpayegani and Shabiri Zanjani.