Memories of Akbar Hashemi - January 14, 2001 - Formation of the Expediency Discernment Council Meeting to Approve General Participation Policies

Formation of the Expediency Discernment Council Meeting to Approve General Participation Policies and Political Consultations with Key Members of the Council

Report by Sheikh Abbas Vaez Tabasi on the Replacement of the Shrine and Restoration of the Tomb of Imam Reza

Report by Amir Tehrani and Ali Bagheri, then Deputy Ministers of Information, Regarding Special Security Bulletins and Discussion of the Saeed Montazeri Case

Announcement of the Verdict by the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran on Defendants in the Conference Known as Berlin

According to this initial court ruling, Akbar Ganji was sentenced to ten years in prison and five years of exile, Ezzatollah Sahabi to four years and six months in prison, Ali Afshari to five years in prison, and Ms. Mehrangiz Kar, Shahla Lahiji, and Shahla Sherkat each received a fine of 500,000 Tomans. Mr. Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, Mohammad Ali Sepanlou, Alireza Alavi Tabrizi, Hamidreza Jalai-Pour, along with Ms. Jamileh Kadivar and Moniru Ravani-Pour, were acquitted. The case against other defendants, including Mr. Chengiz Pahlavan, Kazem Kordvani, Bahman Niroomand, Mehdi Jafari Gharzini, Mohammad Rafie, Mehdi Sardari, Ahmad Taheri, and Navid Kermani, as well as Ms. Katayoun Ahmadpour, Shohre Badiei, Roshanak Daryoush, and Nasrin Basiri, remains open due to their being abroad.

Cancellation of Gerhard Schröder's planned visit to Iran in this context.

Full Text of the Daily Notes:

In the morning, the Expediency Discernment Council held a meeting to approve several articles of the general participation policies. At noon, I hosted a number of members, including Mr. Vaez Tabasi, Ahmad Jannati, Mohammad Yazdi, Nategh Nouri, Mohammadi Kermani, and Durri Najafabadi. We discussed current issues, including the upcoming presidential election in 2001. Mr. Abbas Vaez Tabasi, the custodian of the Astan Quds Razavi, provided details regarding the replacement of the shrine and the restoration of the sacred tomb of Imam Reza (AS), while Mr. Qorbani Ali Durri Najafabadi discussed the trials related to the chain murders.

In the afternoon, Messrs. Amir Tehrani and Ali Bagheri, deputy ministers of information, visited to present special bulletins and reported on the case of Mr. Saeed Montazeri, the son of Ayatollah Montazeri, as well as the national reconciliation plan scheduled for a session next month.

I returned home at 9 PM. Kazem Marashi, my brother-in-law, made kebabs from the meat that Mohsen had brought yesterday from the pistachio orchard on the road to Saveh; they turned out tough and dry. Today, the verdict for the defendants in the Berlin conference case was announced: ten were sentenced, and six were acquitted. Simultaneously, Mr. Gerhard Schröder, the Chancellor of Germany, canceled his planned trip to Iran. He was set to visit in the spring as a response to Mr. Mohammad Khatami's visit to Germany. In today’s media, there was much speculation regarding Mr. Khatami's candidacy; some opposed while others supported the idea.