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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 November 1999 Issue No. 456 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 November 1999 Issue No. 456
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Special Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Reformist wins hearts, loses muscle
By Azadeh MoaveniAs show trials go, court proceedings against the former Iranian interior minister and ally of President Mohamed Khatami, Abdollah Nouri, were a resounding success. The extra-judicial nature of the court, which many Iranians believe to be illegal, and Nouri's bold and impassioned hijacking of the trial created the requisite air of high treason and drama that such trials intend.
As was true of the previous case against former mayor of Tehran Gholamhossein Karbaschi, observers believe conservatives in Iran stage such trials in order to make an example of pro-reform officials whom they consider to have gone too far, amassing too much power, popularity, or both.
Rarely successful, these tactics have now been twice upstaged by the rhetorical and intellectual agility of the reformist defendants, who have turned their trials into public forums in which to present their views. These include reformist ideas on such taboo subjects as the absolute authority of the late Ayatollah Khomeini, Iranian ties with the United States and the Islamic basis for capital punishment and for the compulsory wearing of the hijab, or veil, by women.
Though successful at face value, and certainly so for the admiring foreign press, these victories for the reformist camp have not stopped conservatives from securing their ultimate aim -- to remove reformists from political life. In order to achieve this, observers say, the clerical establishment is willing to suffer a tarnished public image.
The official announcement of Nouri's guilt made no mention of the charges he had been convicted of, though his sentence, which is expected to follow in the next few days, is widely expected to involve the closure of his prominent pro-reform newspaper Khordad and possibly a jail term.
Despite numerous appeals, Nouri's former colleague Karbaschi, who has been convicted of corruption, now spends his time in prison, and the sprawling metropolis of Tehran, which Karbaschi had been able to revive after years of post-revolutionary neglect, is once again in danger of decline.
Nouri has said he will not appeal against the verdict, since he does not recognise the legitimacy of the court. The Special Clerical Court that tried him is not provided for in the Iranian Constitution. Since its jurisdiction is limited to clerics, it has some of the features of a special military court.
While support for Nouri on the front pages of the pro-reform press has increased his popularity, reformists in Iran are wondering to what end. Nouri can now be barred from running for the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Iran, in which he was expected to lead the reform movement and to be elected speaker.
According to reports in the reformist press, the recent crackdown on liberal officials and editors is part of a wider conservative effort to consolidate power and stifle dissent before the February elections.
In another development, eight participants in July's student demonstrations have been sentenced to jail terms of between eight months to eight years for their role in the unrest. Another prominent editor of a pro-reform newspaper, Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, has also been arrested pending trial for "misconduct" related to the now-banned daily Neshat.
