Special court for the clergy
The special court for the clergy ( Persian دادگاه ویژهٔ روحانیت, DMG dādgāh-e wīže-ye rūḥānīyat ) is an Iranian court that is specifically designed to hear and judge offenses committed by clergymen. Disseminating opinions and taking positions contrary to the theocratic governance of Iran is also considered an offense. The special court, which has inquisitorial features, was introduced in 1987 by the then chief jurist Ruhollah Khomeini , and institutionalized in 1990 by the new chief jurist Ali Chamene'i .
History and tasks
Under Khamene'i's supervision, the special tribunal for the clergy is charged with confronting dissenting clergymen and preserving the dignity of the clergy .
"A clergyman who advocates the separation of state and religion is treated as an apostate and apostasy is subject to the death penalty ."
This new regulation differs fundamentally from the principles of political quietism for which Khomeini teacher Hossein Borudscherdi also stood.
The legislation of the special court for the clergy has changed
- to the Islamic legal sources as well
- in the interpretation of the Shia given by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
to orient. The special court for the clergy generally negotiates in secret.
The purpose and cause of the establishment of this special court was the constitutional amendment of 1989 after the death of Khomeini, which no longer provides the revolutionary leader as the highest-ranking Shiite cleric. In particular, the religious rank of Ayatollah Khamenei, below the current 14 Grand Ayatollahs in Iran, also gave cause for concern within the clergy. Khomeini, who was accepted by all Iranian Shiite legal scholars as the highest legal scholar and highest-ranking clergyman, could z. B. Establish his view of things as given for all clerics through a fatwa . Clerics who are above the revolutionary leader in the religious hierarchy can now also be tried by this special jurisdiction if they are in the opposite position to the revolutionary leader. This enabled Khamenei to strengthen his position, especially in the case of contradicting fatwa.
The legality of the special court is considered controversial among the clergy. Prosecutors and judges in the Special Court are often from the Haghani School in Qom .
Demand for abolition and allegations of torture
Grand Ayatollah Ahmad Azari Qomi called for the abolition of the special court in 1997 in a 34-page open letter published in London. Azari-Qomi accused the special court of terror against liberal scholars and clerics, in particular he charged him with torturing the son of the Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Husseini Shirazi :
- ... Even if he [Mohammad Hussaini Shirazi] rejects the velayat-e faqih (rule of lawyers / religion), why torture his children? Security organizations should learn from the shameful fate of the SAVAK . ...
Trial against Ayatollah Borudscherdi
In mid-June 2007 the special court imposed the death penalty on Ayatollah Kazemeyni Borudscherdi , who publicly campaigns for the separation of state and religion in Iran and for non-violence.
Known convictions
See also
literature
- Wahied Wahdat-Hagh : The Islamic Republic of Iran . The rule of political Islam as a variant of totalitarianism. Berlin 2003. - ISBN 978-3825867812
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mirjam Künkler: The Special Courts of the Clergy and the Repression of Dissident Clergy in Iran Princeton University, May 13, 2009
- ^ Hashemi, Seyyed Mohammed: Constitutional Law of the Iranian Republic of Iran. Tehran. 1993. page 609
- ^ Wahied Wahdat-Hagh : The Islamic Republic of Iran . Pp. 318-319
- ^ Wahied Wahdat-Hagh: The Islamic Republic of Iran. P. 319
- ↑ Religion and the Dilemmas of Power in Iran ( Memento of the original from April 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. CSIS April 1992. "Copyright / Permission to Reproduce" states "Information on this site has been posted with the intent that it be readily available for personal and public non-commercial use and may be reproduced" Archived copy ( Memento des Original vom 9. June 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Safa Haeri , Iran Press Service : Ayatollah Azari-Qomi To The Leader: "The People Will Consign Us To The Dustbing Of History"
- ↑ Azari Qomi in the weekly magazine Nimrooz ( Memento of August 8, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) 1997: Open letter to the Supreme Legal Scholar of Iran
