Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, January 27, 2025
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| Sina Yousefi, Human Rights Lawyer |
After the armed attack on January 18 at the Supreme Court building in Tehran, which resulted in the deaths of two senior judges, the special role of hardline, pro-Islamic Republic judges in the Iranian judicial system has been discussed once again.
In an interview with Voice of America, lawyer Sina Yousefi stated that judges in Iran swear an oath not to make impartial and independent decisions but to support the supreme religious leader and protect the foundations of the Islamic Republic.
"In the Islamic Republic, the formation of the judicial system from the beginning has contributed to the strengthening of this situation. This system explicitly causes the division among judges. Both the selection of judges and the initial establishment of the courts contributed to this situation. For example, the Revolutionary Courts, as the name suggests, were established at the beginning of the revolution to try elements of the Pahlavi regime and were supposed to lose their authority afterward. However, that did not happen," the human rights lawyer said.
According to Yousefi, Iran's judicial system is divided both institutionally and ideologically:
"Since the beginning of the Islamic Revolution, this system has caused judges to split into two groups, both institutionally and in terms of the individuals who serve as judges. One group consists of ordinary judges. But even they swear an oath to strengthen the foundations of the Islamic Republic and support the supreme religious leader. However, we do not see impartiality or independence in this oath."
The lawyer explained that all judicial candidates, after completing their academic stages, undergo rigorous tests to prove their loyalty to the supreme religious leader and the foundations of the Islamic Republic. Furthermore, judges working in the Revolutionary Courts, as well as other specialized departments within the courts, are chosen from those who can work in coordination with the Islamic Revolutionary institutions.
"The cases under the jurisdiction of the Revolutionary Courts, except for narcotics trafficking cases, mostly involve issues where the government is a party. Therefore, judges are selected who have superior qualities in serving the revolution and supporting the supreme leader," Sina Yousefi stated.
Appeals from political activists sentenced by the Revolutionary Courts in Iranian Azerbaijan and other regions are sent to the special sections of the provincial appellate courts.
According to Yousefi, "Some sections are created where specialization is not the focus. These sections are established so that a particular file proceeds in the desired direction, meaning that the pressure system achieves the intended result. There is almost no transparent rule in the laws of the Islamic Republic in this regard."
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Sina Yusufi: Hakimlər tərəfsiz olacaqlarına deyil, İslam Respublikasının əsaslarını qoruyacaqlarına and içirlər