Rafsanjani Family Members Arrested

Faezeh Hashemi

In the wake of unrest in the past few days, five close relatives of the Chairman of the State Expediency Council (SEC) Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani have been arrested.
His daughter Faezeh, one granddaughter, Hossein Mar’ashi’s wife (Mar’ashi is Rafsanjani’s brother-in-law), Mar’ashi’s daughter and Mar’ashi’s sister-in-law have been in custody, the Persian daily ’Iran’ reported Sunday.
Based on the report, the five were “inciting saboteurs“ in the illegal protest rally in Azadi Avenue on Saturday.
It is also reported that another close relative of the former president was present in a protest rally in Tohid Square on Saturday but escaped after being identified by the security forces.

No Report on Ban
Meanwhile, the prosecutor general’s assistant for judicial affairs, Hossein Zebhi Saturday said his office has not received any report on travel ban on close relatives of some officials. He emphasized that the prosecutor general’s office is the only authority that can publish the names of and information about people banned from economic transactions and/or travelling overseas, ILNA reported.
“In line with Article 44 of the Constitution moves have been taken to reduce the number of people banned from leaving the country by banks and the Central Bank of Iran (CBI). Furthermore, the list of people prohibited from engaging in commerce, which includes over 100,000 namesÉ will reduce significantly in the near future and be made public,“ he noted.