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Nooshabeh Amiri

Ahmad Ghabel is a religious reformist who was released from prison on bail. His ‎brother, Hadi Ghabel, was put behind bars by the Special Court for the Clergy, and faces ‎the same charges “that are brought against all political prisoners.” Below is an excerpt of ‎Ghabel’s exclusive interview with Rooz.
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Rooz (R): Let us begin the interview with Mr. Hadi Ghabel’s condition. How is he ‎doing?‎

Ahmad Ghabel (AG): The Special Court for the Clergy has selected a lawyer for him…‎

R: How does that work out?‎

AG: They provide to the defendant a list of attorneys that they have selected and ‎approved, and the defendant has to choose from that list. This attorney visited my ‎brother in Ghom along with his son for 20 minutes. According to his son, my brother’s ‎general condition is good, for example, they do not insult him there. But he is in solitary ‎confinement and there is no one else in the complex where he is being kept. Apparently ‎no one else is kept there, not even in other solitaries, and he is the only detainee. I asked ‎my nephew about my brother, he laughed and said every charge that you have ever heard ‎for a political prisoner has been brought against my father too; all the charges that you ‎have heard about in the press…‎

R: …Acting against national security, insulting holy beliefs…‎

AG: Yes, yes. All of those. ‎

R: Do you think it is normal to force a defendant into choosing an attorney from a list?‎

AG: What is normal in this country anyway? You deal with the same situation in ‎elections too. The Guardian Council approves people that it likes and releases a list. It ‎tells people, you can choose from this list. This court [Special Court for the Clergy] ‎makes its own laws, violating the country’s laws. One of the conditions laid out by this ‎court is that the attorney must be a cleric, he must have legal experience, he must have a ‎law degree, and he must also be approved by the court – and this is a new requirement. ‎So in the court is both the judge and the prosecutor. My brother was arrested because of ‎an official warrant issued by the Qom branch of the Special Court. This is the meaning ‎of justice to these gentlemen! The same person or forum acts as the prosecutor and the ‎judge…. So how can one expect fairness from this system of justice? You can say from ‎the beginning that he is convicted! ‎

R: So you are not waiting for your brother to “confess”?‎

AG: No. Confessions are good for a time when these gentlemen accuse someone of ‎working secretively. My brother has done no secret work. ‎