Iran`s Majlis says retaining Mortazavi in his post is ‘unlawful’

TEHRAN,Jan.31(MNA) – Iranian Majlis speaker Ali Larijani announced on Wednesday that the ratification recently approved by the cabinet according to which the authority to appoint and dismiss the director or caretaker of the Social Security Organization had been transferred from the labor minister to the first vice president was “unlawful”. Ali Larijani also announced that it was against the law to retain former Tehran prosecutor general Saeed Mortazavi as director of the Social Security Organization. In March 2012, Mortazavi, who some MPs hold partly responsible for the Kahrizak incident in which three inmates lost their lives, was appointed by Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare Minister Abdolreza Sheikholeslami as director of the organization. However, after parliamentary follow-ups, the Court of Administrative Justice announced on January 14 that the decree appointing Mortazavi to the post had been revoked. A number of MPs said at the time that they would impeach the labor minister if he failed to dismiss Mortazavi. On January 21, Sheikholeslami, during a meeting with the MPs seeking to impeach him, promised to remove Mortazavi from his post by January 22. However, it was announced on January 22 that First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi had appointed Mortazavi as the caretaker of the Social Security Organization based on the cabinet’s ratification. Administration officials should be summoned to Majlis: MP Eighteen MPs are seeking to impeach Sheikholeslami, and the impeachment session is scheduled to be held on Sunday. However, MP Massoud Pezeshkian, told the Mehr News Agency on Wednesday that there was no longer a reason for the impeachment of the minister. “The cooperatives, labor, and social welfare minister no longer has authority in regard to the Social Security Organization, and there is no longer a reason for us to ask him questions and impeach him because no answer will be provided,” said Pezeshkian whose signature is on the impeachment motion. Administration officials should be summoned to the parliament and answer the MPs’ questions, he said, criticizing the administration for its insistence on circumventing the law. But MP Ali Motahhari, who is seriously pursuing to impeach Sheikholeslami, told the the Mehr News Agency on Wednesday that the minister would definitely be impeached on Sunday because of the fact that he acted against the law by accepting to transfer part of his responsibilities to the vice president.