Hardliner new judiciary chief

DUBAI, July 1, (AP): Iran’s supreme leader on Thursday appointed a hard-line cleric sanctioned by the West as the country’s new judiciary chief, state media reported, replacing the president-elect who previously held the powerful post.

The new chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi, 64, takes the reins from Ebrahim Raisi, who will ascend to the country’s highest civilian position after his election victory earlier this month.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters in Iran, announced Ejehi’s appointment, urging him to advocate for justice and fight corruption. In a decree, he praised Ejehi’s “valuable experience, shining records and legal competence.”

Ejehi takes over a judiciary widely criticized by international rights groups for being one of the world’s top executioners, as well as conducting closed-door trials of dual nationals and individuals with Western ties. Raisi, the previous judiciary chief and a protege of Khamenei, was sanctioned by the United States in part over his involvement in the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988, as well as over his tenure at the judiciary.

Thursday’s announcement was widely expected as Ejehi, considered close to Khamenei, had served as deputy judiciary chief after a long history in the branch, including as prosecutor general. In that post, from 20092014, he pushed to further limit access to the internet and popular social media apps, sparking worries among his opponents over the increase of social oppression.

From 2005-2009, during the first term of hard-line populist former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Ejehi served as intelligence minister, following decades of deep involvement in the services dating back to his role as head of the ministry’s recruiting office in the 1980s.

The conservative cleric landed on the US Treasury Department and European Unions sanctions lists over allegations of severe human rights abuses linked to Ahmadinejad’s disputed reelection in 2009.