Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Encyclopedia
Grand Ayatollah
Seyyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi (آیت الله سید محمود هاشمی شاهرودی) (Born 1948 in Najaf
, Iraq
) is a moderate Iraq
i-Iran
ian politician
and Twelver Shi'a Marja
. Hashemi Shahroudi was the leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, which has caused objections to his serving as the head of Iran's Judiciary System upon his appointment to the post. He served as head of the Judicial System till 2009. He is currently a member of the Guardian Council
.
Upon accepting his position as the head of Iran’s Judiciary system, Mr. Shahroudi proclaimed: "I have inherited an utter ruin from the previous judiciary [referring to Mohammad Yazdi
's 10 years in office]." He appointed Saeed Mortazavi
, a well known fundamentalist and controversial figure, to Prosecutor General of Iran, but was prevented by hardliners from stopping his violent acts against dissidents or removing him from power. One of the main bills Shahroudi submitted to the Iranian parliament is the so called Ghanoon-e Mojaazaat hay-e Jaay-gozin or Decriminalization Bill. In July 2011 he was appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
to head an arbitration body to resolve an ongoing dispute between president Ahmadinejad and parliament.
According to the bills, for all minor crimes, whose punishment is less than six months of imprisonment, imprisonment will be substituted with social penalties. This category of crimes include crimes related to traffic, environmental, medical, family, cultural and hunting offenses. The bills also demands that criminals undergo an educational or skill training course held by the judiciary system.
The bills also addresses the crimes conducted by minors, the three age categories 7-12, 12-15 and 15–18 years old criminals, similar to Iranian criminal law in 1925. Particularly all crimes that are punished by execution for adults, will be replaced for these age categories. The bill is based on several years of continuous discussion with religious scholars at the seminaries. According to the bill, the crimes conducted by children of 7–12 years old is not punishable. For age category of 12-15 and 15-18, imprisonment is removed and replaced by mandatory training and education programs. For the age category of 15-18, execution is applied for crimes like murders if and only if the judge is confident that the criminals are mentally developed as adults and the crime is conducted intentionally and with a well-thought-through-plan. However for teenagers by default and for young adults (older than 18) with low mental development, execution is not used as punishment.
In 2009, the bills was approved by the judiciary commission of Iranian parliament. The bill will be functional after the approval of the parliament and the guardian council.
Shahroudi is most notable in the West for instituting Iran's 2002 moratorium on stoning
as a form of capital punishment
. The penalty remains on the books however, leaving open the possibility that the moratorium could again be overturned as it was in 2006 and 2007.
to head an arbitration body to resolve an ongoing dispute between president Ahmadinejad and parliament. The five-member body Shahroudi heads is made up of "hard-liners known for their opposition to any reforms within the ruling system", according to the Associated Press
news agency. The appointment was seen as a move to sideline or weaken former President Hashemi Rafsanjani who heads the Expediency Council, a body set up to arbitrate disputes within the ruling system in the Islamic Republic. Rafsanjani had alienated Khamenei and the Islamic establishment with "his tacit support" for opposition to the controversial June 2009 presidential elections results that re-elected president Ahmadinejad.
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Ayatollah
Ayatollah is a high ranking title given to Usuli Twelver Shī‘ah clerics. Those who carry the title are experts in Islamic studies such as jurisprudence, ethics, and philosophy and usually teach in Islamic seminaries. The next lower clerical rank is Hojatoleslam wal-muslemin...
Seyyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi (آیت الله سید محمود هاشمی شاهرودی) (Born 1948 in Najaf
Najaf
Najaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 560,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
) is a moderate Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i-Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and Twelver Shi'a Marja
Marja
Marja , also known as a marja-i taqlid or marja dini , literally means "Source to Imitate/Follow" or "Religious Reference"...
. Hashemi Shahroudi was the leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, which has caused objections to his serving as the head of Iran's Judiciary System upon his appointment to the post. He served as head of the Judicial System till 2009. He is currently a member of the Guardian Council
Guardian Council
The Guardian Council of the Constitution , also known as the Guardian Council or Council of Guardians, is an appointed and constitutionally-mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence in the Islamic Republic of Iran....
.
Upon accepting his position as the head of Iran’s Judiciary system, Mr. Shahroudi proclaimed: "I have inherited an utter ruin from the previous judiciary [referring to Mohammad Yazdi
Mohammad Yazdi
Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdii is an Iranian cleric who served as the head of Judiciary System of Iran between 1989 and 1999, following Ayatollah Abdolkarim Mousavi Ardebili and succeeded by Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi....
's 10 years in office]." He appointed Saeed Mortazavi
Saeed Mortazavi
Saeed Murtazavi is a controversial Iranian jurist and former prosecutor of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, and Prosecutor General of Tehran, a position he has held from 2003 to 2009. He has been called as "butcher of the press" and "torturer of Tehran" by some observers...
, a well known fundamentalist and controversial figure, to Prosecutor General of Iran, but was prevented by hardliners from stopping his violent acts against dissidents or removing him from power. One of the main bills Shahroudi submitted to the Iranian parliament is the so called Ghanoon-e Mojaazaat hay-e Jaay-gozin or Decriminalization Bill. In July 2011 he was appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
Ali Khamenei
Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hoseyni Khāmene’i is the Supreme Leader of Iran and the figurative head of the Muslim conservative establishment in Iran and Twelver Shi'a marja...
to head an arbitration body to resolve an ongoing dispute between president Ahmadinejad and parliament.
Prosecution of parliament members
In 2001, The Judiciary system prosecuted several reformist members of parliaments for their speeches and work in the framework of their post. Iranian constitution gives immunity to members of parliament and the courts have no right to put MPs on trial for their speeches in the parliament. The incident led to a major conflict between Iranian president Mohammad Khatami and Chief of Judiciary Hashemi Shahroudi. Khatami protested to the courts' prosecution of MPs, saying the practice contravened a political immunity which the Iranian Constitution has provided for the deputies. The notice prompted Hashemi Shahroudi to respond, calling Khatami's letter "a surprise." "Since judges, according to the Constitution and ordinary laws as well as the jurisprudential principles, are independent in their interpretation of the law and issuing verdicts, nobody -- not even the judiciary chief -- has the right to impose its interpretation of the law on judges," Shahroudi said in part of his letter to President Khatami. Shahroudi denounced reformist MPs, saying they weakened parliament by defending "westernized" journalists and other liberals.Decriminalization Bill
Decriminalization Bill (in Persian: تعيين مجازاتهای جايگزين) refers to a legal bill submitted by Iranian Judiciary system to Iranian parliament aiming at substitution of imprisonment and execution in Iranian legal system. The bill is considered one of the most important legal bills prepared by Iranian judiciary system since Iranian revolution and since Shahroudi took the office.According to the bills, for all minor crimes, whose punishment is less than six months of imprisonment, imprisonment will be substituted with social penalties. This category of crimes include crimes related to traffic, environmental, medical, family, cultural and hunting offenses. The bills also demands that criminals undergo an educational or skill training course held by the judiciary system.
The bills also addresses the crimes conducted by minors, the three age categories 7-12, 12-15 and 15–18 years old criminals, similar to Iranian criminal law in 1925. Particularly all crimes that are punished by execution for adults, will be replaced for these age categories. The bill is based on several years of continuous discussion with religious scholars at the seminaries. According to the bill, the crimes conducted by children of 7–12 years old is not punishable. For age category of 12-15 and 15-18, imprisonment is removed and replaced by mandatory training and education programs. For the age category of 15-18, execution is applied for crimes like murders if and only if the judge is confident that the criminals are mentally developed as adults and the crime is conducted intentionally and with a well-thought-through-plan. However for teenagers by default and for young adults (older than 18) with low mental development, execution is not used as punishment.
In 2009, the bills was approved by the judiciary commission of Iranian parliament. The bill will be functional after the approval of the parliament and the guardian council.
Shahroudi is most notable in the West for instituting Iran's 2002 moratorium on stoning
Stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
as a form of capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
. The penalty remains on the books however, leaving open the possibility that the moratorium could again be overturned as it was in 2006 and 2007.
2009 Bill on Iran's Bar Association
In 2009, Hashemi Shahroudi offered a bill to Iranian parliament that targets the independence of Iran's Bar Association. According to this bill, lawyers will be watched by the Iranian ministry of Intelligence and their credential depends on the approval of the intelligence service.Restriction of media
In 2009, Shahroudi issued an order to restrict people's access to Iranian Satellite TV Channels and to prosecute Satellite TV Channel staffs whose opinion is not in line with that of the Islamic Republic. People who support these channels and internet users who act not according to the line of the constitution, will be punished with up to five years of imprisonment.Arbitration
In July 2011 he was appointed by Supreme Leader Ali KhameneiAli Khamenei
Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hoseyni Khāmene’i is the Supreme Leader of Iran and the figurative head of the Muslim conservative establishment in Iran and Twelver Shi'a marja...
to head an arbitration body to resolve an ongoing dispute between president Ahmadinejad and parliament. The five-member body Shahroudi heads is made up of "hard-liners known for their opposition to any reforms within the ruling system", according to the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
news agency. The appointment was seen as a move to sideline or weaken former President Hashemi Rafsanjani who heads the Expediency Council, a body set up to arbitrate disputes within the ruling system in the Islamic Republic. Rafsanjani had alienated Khamenei and the Islamic establishment with "his tacit support" for opposition to the controversial June 2009 presidential elections results that re-elected president Ahmadinejad.
Criticism
Mahmoud Shahroudi has received criticism from a number of Iranian scholars and lawyers. Mostafa Mohaqqeq Damad, a well known Iranian scholar and expert on Islamic law, wrote a letter of criticism in August 2009.See also
- List of current Maraji
- Zahra KazemiZahra KazemiZahra "Ziba" Kazemi-Ahmadabadi was an Iranian-Canadian freelance photographer, residing in Montreal, Canada, who died in the custody of Iranian officials following her arrest....
- Shahram Jazayeri-ArabShahram Jazayeri-ArabShahram Jazayeri-Arab is an Iranian entrepreneur and businessman involved in a high-profile corruption case with several officials of the Islamic republic. He was also involved in fabrication of official documents...
- Akbar MohammadiAkbar MohammadiAkbar Mohammadi was an Iranian student at Tehran University involved in the 18th of Tir crisis, also known as the July 1999 Iran student protests, Iran's biggest pro-democracy demonstrations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution...
- Saeed MortazaviSaeed MortazaviSaeed Murtazavi is a controversial Iranian jurist and former prosecutor of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, and Prosecutor General of Tehran, a position he has held from 2003 to 2009. He has been called as "butcher of the press" and "torturer of Tehran" by some observers...
- Delara DarabiDelara DarabiDelara Darabi was an Iranian Gilaki female, who was sentenced to death by hanging when she was only 16 years old. She was convicted of murdering her father's female cousin in 2003...
- Reza AlinejadReza AlinejadReza Alinejad was one of countless alleged Iranian juvenile offenders who was sentenced to death by hanging at the age of 17...
- Nazanin Fatehi
- Ateqeh Rajabi
- Iranian Criminal Code
- Mohammad ShahroudiMohammad ShahroudiGrand Ayatollah Sayyid Mohammad Shahroudi was born in Najaf, Iraq. He is an Iraqi Twelver Shi'a Marja He was taught the preliminary the lessons of the seminary studies by his father, Shaykh Ali Al-Shahrbabaki. Since 1963, he has been delivering lectures in the Islamic Seminary of Qom.-References:...
External links
- JUDICIARY BOSS TELLS PRESIDENT MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS
- Hashemi Shahroudi opposing President Khatami's actions
- The Moving Report on the Judiciary System, from Mohammad Ali AbtahiMohammad Ali AbtahiHojjat ol-Eslam Seyyed Mohammad Ali Abtahi is an Iranian theologian, scholar, pro-democracy activist and chairman of the Institute for Interreligious Dialogue. He is a former Vice President of Iran and a close associate of former President Mohammad Khatami...
's weblog (in Persian) - Shahroudi harshly critisized Iranian police and some hard-line judges (in Persian)
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