Sadeq Larijani

Sadeq Ardeshir Larijani (Persian: صادق اردشیر لاریجانی; born 12 March 1961), better known as Amoli Larijani (Persian: آملی لاریجانی), is an Iranian scholar, conservative politician, and current chairman of Expediency Discernment Council. He is the former and fifth Chief Justice of the judicial system of Iran after the 1979 revolution.

Sadeq Larijani
Larijani, 2017
Chairman of Expediency Discernment Council
Assumed office
30 December 2018
Appointed byAli Khamenei
Preceded byMahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Chief Justice of Iran
In office
14 August 2009 – 7 March 2019
Appointed byAli Khamenei
DeputyEbrahim Raisi
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i
Preceded byMahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Succeeded byEbrahim Raisi
Member of the Assembly of Experts
Assumed office
23 February 1999
ConstituencyMazandaran Province
Majority682,817
Personal details
Born
Sadeq Ardeshir Larijani

(1961-03-12) 12 March 1961
Najaf, Iraqi Republic
NationalityIranian
Political partyCombatant Clergy Association
Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom
ParentMirza Hashem Amoli (father)[1]
Relatives
Alma materQom Seminary

Early life and education

He was born in 1339 Solar (1961) in Najaf, to Iranian parents. His father, the Ayatollah Mirza Hashem Amoli, was an eminent Mujtahid of his time who worked in Najaf after being exiled by Mohammad Reza Shah. The family moved to Iran after the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Larijani became familiar with both religious sciences and modern sciences as a child. He began primary school in 1345 Solar (1966) and finished high school in 1356 Solar (1977). After high school, he began his seminary studies in Qom. He finished his seminary studies in 1368 Solar (1989) and then began to teach in both seminary and university. He became a member of scientific staffs of Qom University and taught many courses in theology and comparative philosophy.[2] Larijani is a brother of Ali Larijani (Speaker of the previo Majlis), Mohammad Javad Larijani, Bagher Larijani (Chancellor of Tehran University of Medical Sciences), and Fazel Larijani (Iran's former cultural attachée in Ottawa).[3][4][5]

Career

Larijani served as one of the 12 members of the Guardian Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran for eight years.[6] Described as "relatively junior"[6] or "inexperienced cleric" with "close ties to Iran's military and intelligence agencies",[7] he was appointed head of the judicial system of Iran by supreme leader Ali Khamenei on 14 August 2009.[8]

According to leading Iranian human rights defense lawyer[9] Mohammad Seifzadeh, the head of the Judicial System of Iran is required to be a Mojtahed with significant experience in the field. Larijani, however, was neither an experienced jurist nor a highly ranked cleric and carried the title of Hojjat-ol Eslam up to a few months before his appointment to the post.[10] Larijani's tenure as the Chief Justice of Iran ended on 7 March 2019, when the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appointed Ebrahim Raisi to succeed him.

Activities

Shortly after his appointment, Larijani appointed Saeed Mortazavi to the post of the deputy prosecutor general of Iran. Mortazavi was prosecutor general of Tehran for more than seven years, during which he was involved in murdering and torturing several Iranian civilians and activists. One of the high-profile deaths attributed to Mortazavi is that of Canadian-Iranian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi. On 7 September 2009, Iranian police, with permission from the judiciary system and Tehran General Court, entered the office to support political prisoners and seized all the documents and computers, among others. The police refused to give a receipt for the items. Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi organized the office to support the victims of torture in Iranian prisons.[11] On 8 September 2009, Iranian Judiciary, unexpectedly closed and sealed the office of National Confidence Party and arrested Morteza Alviri and Alireza Beheshti and several of the closest allies of opposition leaders Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi.[12][13] That same month, the authorities from the Judiciary System began targeting the children of leaders of the opposition groups. For instance, Atefeh Emam, the daughter of jailed activist Javad Emam, the Chief of Staff of Mousavi's campaign, was arrested on 9 September 2009, held in a secret facility, and tortured to pressure her to make a "confession" implicating her father. The Judiciary released her after twenty-four hours in the South of Tehran in an inappropriate condition.[14]

Controversies

In 2015, he said it is illegal for the Assembly of Experts to supervise Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.[15] In 2016, he warned president Hassan Rouhani against voicing opposition to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.[16][17][18]

Views

Sadegh Larijani stated that the government does not derive legitimacy from the nation's votes.[19] He is a well-known critic of ex-president Mohammad Khatami and his reforms. In March 1998, an article by him attacking Khatami's call for an Islamic civil society and Abdolkarim Soroush's philosophy was published in Sobh newspaper.[20]

Larijani proclaimed:

"We support a society which is based on the spirit of Islam and religious faith, in which Islamic and religious values are propagated, in which every Koranic injunction and the teachings of the Prophet of Islam and the Imams are implemented. It will be a society in which the feeling of servitude to God Almighty will be manifest everywhere, and in which people will not demand their rights from God but are conscious of their obligations to God."[21]

At the same time, he was considered a leading figure in the sphere of philosophy of law or fiqh.[22] He also criticizes the views of people – such as Abdolkarim Soroush – who say that while there is a society, or civilization, of Muslims, there is no such thing as an Islamic society or civilization and that Islam is a spiritual and individual way of life, not an ideology.[23] Larijani condemned protesters and those who expressed doubts in the 2009 presidential election results, calling the protests "illegal" and any doubts "baseless".[24]

Sanctions

On 23 May 2012, Larijani was put on the sanction list of the European Union, which was published in the Official Journal of the Union.[25] In the journal, it was stated that as head of the judiciary in Iran, he endorsed and allowed harsh punishments for retribution crimes, crimes against God, and crimes against the state.[25][26]

In January 2018, the United States sanctioned Larijani for human rights abuses,[27] which Iran strongly denied.[28]

Works

Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani wrote works in a variety of different fields such as Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), principles of Islamic jurisprudence (Uṣūl al-fiqh), analytic philosophy, philosophy of language, and moral philosophy. He translated some works into Persian, notably Geoffrey Warnock's Contemporary Moral Philosophy. He also translated a philosophy of science article by Karl Popper. In several works, he criticizes the Western point of view from an Islamic viewpoint.[29] In May 2016, The collection of philosophy of principles was represented by him. This collection amounts to 33 volumes; until now, just the first and fifth volumes have been published.[30]

Some of the books written by him are as follows:

  • Critics on Theory of Theoretical Limitation and Expansion of Shariah
  • Analytical Philosophy, Designation and Necessity
  • Theories of Meaning[31]

Public image

According to a poll conducted in March 2016 by Information and Public Opinion Solutions LLC (iPOS) among Iranian citizens, Larijani has 37% approval and 29% disapproval ratings and thus a +8% net popularity; while 23% of responders do not recognize the name.[32]

Personal life

Larijani is son-in-law of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Vahid Khorasani,[33] who was one of his teachers in Qom.[4]

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sadeq Larijani.
  1. Marsha B. Cohen (May 2013). "The Brothers Larijani: A sphere of power". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  2. Tajgar, Reza. "Tasks of juridicial faculty" (95). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. Erdbrink, Thomas (5 February 2013). "High-Level Feud Bares Tensions in Iran". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 March 2017.
  4. Sahimi, Mohammad (20 August 2009). "Nepotism & the Larijani Dynasty". PBS. Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  5. "Iran's president defies supreme leader to safeguard his future". Al Arabiya. 10 February 2013. Archived from the original on 11 February 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  6. Will Iran's 'Kennedys' Challenge Ahmadinejad? By Robin Wright Archived 20 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine. 17 August 2009
  7. Militarization of the Iranian Judiciary By Mehdi Khalaji, 13 August 2009
  8. "Sadeq Larijani to replace Shahroudi as judiciary chief: sources". Archived from the original on 8 March 2012.
  9. "Authorities continue to arrest human rights lawyers - IFEX". IFEX. 28 July 2009. Archived from the original on 16 October 2009.
  10. صادق لاریجانی از نجف تا قوه قضاییه. sigarchi.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011.
  11. "حمله به دفتر کمیته پیگیری بازداشت‌شدگان ستاد موسوی". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 9 September 2009.
  12. "BBC فارسی - ايران - دفتر کروبی و دفتر حزب اعتماد ملی مهر و موم شد". bbc.co.uk. 8 September 2009. Archived from the original on 10 September 2009.
  13. "علیرضا بهشتى، مشاور مير حسين موسوى بازداشت شد". رادیو فردا. Archived from the original on 10 September 2009.
  14. "Unforgivable Crimes in Iran: The Under-Reporting of Deaths". huffingtonpost.com. 7 September 2009.
  15. "Controversy in Iran Surrounding the Supervision of the Supreme Leader's Performance - ASHARQ AL-AWSAT". Archived from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  16. "Iran's Rouhani warned against opposing supreme leader - World Bulletin". Archived from the original on 24 June 2016.
  17. Mustafa Melih Ahishali; Sibel Uğurlu (10 May 2016). "Iran President warned against opposing supreme leader". www.actualite-news.com. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016.
  18. "Iran President Warned against Opposing Supreme Leader". 10 May 2016. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  19. "Iran Briefing September 2006 Issue". caisuk.com. Archived from the original on 30 July 2007.
  20. Sobh newspaper, No 80, Farvardin 1377 (March 1998), p 44.
  21. Islam and Human Rights, Farhang Jahanpour Archived 19 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine Journal of Globalization for the Common Good
  22. Chibli Mallat, 2007 & introduction to middle eastern law, p. 8
  23. "Islam and Human Rights, Farhang Jahanpour". Archived from the original on 2 October 2009.
  24. "رئيس قوه قضائيه در جلسه مسئولين عالي قضائي: عده‌اي تلاش كردند با ادعاي واهي تقلب در انتخابات از مدار قانون بگريزند". farsnews.ir. Archived from the original on 12 September 2009.
  25. "Sadegh Larijani". Foundation of Defense for Democracies. Archived from the original on 17 September 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  26. "Council decision 2012/168/CFSP". Official Journal of the European Union. 24 March 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  27. United States Department of the Treasury (12 January 2018). "Treasury Sanctions Individuals and Entities for Human Rights Abuses and Censorship in Iran, and Support to Sanctioned Weapons Proliferators". Archived from the original on 13 January 2018.
  28. Smith-Spark, Laura (13 January 2018). "Iran threatens 'severe' response to US sanctions against judiciary chief". Cable News Network (CNN). Archived from the original on 13 January 2018.
  29. "Militarization of the Iranian Judiciary". Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017.
  30. رونمایی از کتاب فلسفه علم اصول اثر آیت الله آملی لاریجانی در قم [A book of philosophy, the origin of the teachings of Ayatollah Kamel A'rijani]. www7.irna.ir. Archived from the original on 28 May 2016.
  31. زندگی نامه رئیس جدید قوه قضاییه به روایت آیت الله صادق لاریجانی [Biography: Sadeq Larijani is the new head and a judge on the Supreme Court]. hawzah.net.
  32. "ظریف محبوب‌ترین چهره سیاسی ایران". Information and Public Opinion Solutions LLC (in Persian). 24 May 2016. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  33. Smyth, Gareth (25 September 2016). "Meet the Larijanis, a power in Iran's new aristocracy". The Arab Weekly. No. 74. p. 16. Archived from the original on 16 April 2017.
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