As the Iranian judiciary prepares to try another wave of post-electionprotesters and opposition supporters, Sunday, government TV isannouncing that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed anew hard-line head of the judiciary. The appointment was notunexpected, however.
TheIranian judiciary has taken a leading role in trying to quellopposition protests, with a series of recent trials of oppositionleaders and protesters, and the nomination of a new judiciary chiefwill set the tone for where the process is heading.
Iraniangovernment TV reports Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has namedAyatollah Sadeq Larijani as the new head of the judiciary to replacethe stern-looking two-term veteran chief Ayatollah Mahmoud HashemiShahroudi.
Larijani is the younger brother of Iran's well-knownparliament speaker Ali Larijani, and is currently a member of Iran'spowerful electoral watchdog Guardian Council, which last month rejectedcharges of vote-rigging in the disputed June 12 presidential election.
IranianTV paid tribute to outgoing judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud HashemiShahrudi, showing him presiding over a judicial oversight committee aswell as meeting with ordinary employees of the judiciary.
AyatollahShahrudi insisted that he had made many administrative improvements,both technically and administratively during his tenure as head of thejudiciary.
He says that he has tried to adopt new computersystems and information technology to the work of the Iranianjudiciary, in addition to streamlining the bureaucracy.
Thedecree appointing Larijani to succeed Shahrudi came with a caveat fromAyatollah Khamenei, who insisted that "quick and easy justice beapplied" by the judicial branch during his new tenure.
AyatollahKhamenei has come under harsh criticism for the arbitrary imprisonmentof opposition demonstrators, so the wording of the decree could bedesigned to appease opposition leaders.
Opposition head MirHossein Moussavi along with defeated reformist candidate Mahdi Karroubihave repeatedly condemned the abuse of prisoners, as well as what theyhave called "show-trials" of opposition supporters.
MehrdadKhonsari of the London-based Center for Arab and Iranian Studies saysthat the appointment of Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani was not unexpected,and that he doesn't think it is a response to criticism by theopposition over mistreatment of prisoners.
"This is not asurprise move," said Khonsari. "This had been announced before.Larijani's brother who is a mullah had already been appointed by[Ayatollah] Khamenei to replace [Ayatollah Shahrudi]. So, this is notbecause of the mitigating circumstances having to do with theill-treatment of prisoners or other abuses of the judiciary."
Khonsarialso does not think that the Iranian judiciary will change much underSadeq Larijani, and that like his brother Ali, he isn't much of amoderate.
"The brother is not a moderate," said Khonsari. "He isa moderate amongst the hardliners, or he sounds moderate, but he is avery staunch supporter of Ayatollah Khamenei. Ali Larijani has clearlydrawn a line in the sand as far as where he stands and I'm sure wherehis brother stands, regarding the people that are critical of thecurrent administration."
"He supports everything that[Ayatollah] Khamenei has said ? regarding Western interference in Iran,and his brother, I think, will follow suit, and be quite subservient toKhamenei's whims in the judiciary," he added.
Ayatollah SadeqLarijani will be the third person to head the Iranian judiciary sinceAyatollah Ali Khamenei became Iran's supreme leader in 1989. Hispredecessors Ayatollah Shahrudi and Ayatollah Mohammed Yazdi bothserved two five year terms.