Memories of Akbar Hashemi - March 7, 2001 - Hashemi's Account of Allegations Regarding the Islamic Republic's Involvement in the ALKhobr Bombing

Members of the charity organization for assisting debtors arrived to help pay off prisoners' debts for their release. Established in 1989 at my suggestion and with the collaboration of the late Asadollah Lajvardi, the then head of the prison organization, the charity was created with the understanding that for every amount collected from the public, the government would match it. That year, they raised 55 million tomans, which I also contributed. Their work has continued, and this year they have freed many prisoners; 15,000 are related to checks, and a significant number are related to blood money, with 12,000 deemed eligible for debt repayment, requiring 36 billion tomans for their release.

Brigadier General Abdullah Aghabayi, the former commander of the Special Forces of the Police, came to express his anger towards Dr. Hassan Firouzabadi, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. He stated that he had prepared a report regarding Firouzabadi's performance, which angered him, leading to a public complaint against Aghabayi, resulting in his two-week detention under the pretext of misusing his subordinate personnel. He requested that his story be conveyed to the Leader.

Mr. Karamatollah Emadi, the representative from Semiram, visited to seek assistance for development projects in his constituency, expressing that he had compelled government leaders to pay attention to his requests through explicit criticism. In the evening, former representative Mohammad Hassan Ghali from Aligoodarz came and criticized the monopolistic tendencies of the left wing, citing his own fate as evidence. He believes that during his tenure as the head of the education department in Aligoodarz, he was removed due to pressure from Mr. Karrubi. He mentioned that he had been imprisoned with me before the revolution and lamented that his teacher's salary was insufficient to cover his living expenses.

In the media, reports from the family of Engineer Ezzatollah Sahabi, a national-religious activist, indicated that he has suffered from depression and mental instability while in prison and they have sought help. The CIA and FBI in the U.S. have claimed that Iran was involved in the Khobar bombing and is working on developing nuclear weapons, while the Saudi government responded that it has not accused any government so far. There are severe clashes and tensions in Brunei, Indonesia.