Statements in Meeting with the President and Officials of the Judiciary

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

First of all, we welcome our dear brothers and sisters, the esteemed staff and officials and judges of the Judiciary, and the honorable families of the martyrs of the bitter incident of the Seventh of Tir. We thank Mr. Amoli, the esteemed head of the Judiciary, for his insightful and scholarly report, in which he raised many points regarding the Judiciary and informed the public about the commendable and praiseworthy actions taken within the Judiciary. We ask the Almighty God to assist him and his colleagues at various levels of the Judiciary, grant them success, and help them continue on this radiant and blessed path, God willing. From him - who, thanks be to God, has a distinguished rank in knowledge, innovation, enthusiasm, motivation, and high ambition - this expectation also exists. God willing, may God accept all of it.

Let me say a word regarding the incident of the Seventh of Tir and another word regarding the Judiciary to the esteemed audience. The incident of the Seventh of Tir was a real calamity; it was truly a blow and a bitter and shocking event for the country and the system. For a personality like the martyr, the oppressed late Ayatollah Beheshti, and other great figures, activists from the Judiciary, from the Islamic Consultative Assembly, from the government, from political elites, from scientific elites, to have such an incident occur, such a tragedy to take place, was indeed a calamity. However, there is a point here that can be observed and felt throughout history, and that is that whenever a nation, a group, or an individual demonstrates patience and insight in the face of a calamity that befalls them, that calamity transforms into a blessing for them. The secret of the victory of truth, the victory of the word of truth, the dissemination of truth, and the spread of monotheism throughout history among humanity is this very point. The great prophets of God, and in some cases the nations that were under the rule of these great figures, endured all these calamities; there should have been no trace of the message of the prophets left in history; their thoughts, their ideas, their paths should have been completely destroyed under the storm of bitter events, entangled, and vanished. Yet, you see the opposite; that is, as history has progressed, the message of prophethood has become more alive among the people, in the thoughts of the people. The secret is this: patience and insight in the face of calamities.

Our people demonstrated this art in the case of the Seventh of Tir: instead of becoming hopeless, instead of losing their self-confidence, instead of fearing the enemy and kneeling before the enemy, instead of weakness and defeat, our nation, because of the insight they had and which was constantly injected into them by Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) and was spread among the people, remained patient, stood firm, and turned the tide against the enemy.

I heard the news of the Seventh of Tir later. On that day of the Seventh of Tir and the days following it, I was not in a normal state - I was unconscious and semi-conscious - but when I heard what had happened and how the people reacted to it, I was truly astonished like an observer looking from the outside. Our people must preserve this. We must keep this as a lesson - a lesson that we practiced and returned to history.

For a nation like the Iranian nation, which has entered the arena with such a lofty goal - achieving Islamic values and realizing the foundations of Islam in society and spreading it in the world - naturally, there are many incidents. Well, you are acting according to an Islam that opposes oppression, opposes force, opposes the submission of nations to enemies and bullies, and is not indifferent to the bullying of the world against others. In the face of this movement, who will oppose you? The bullies of the world, the oppressors of the world, the colonizers, the international tyrants, the cruel and harsh dictators; all of these will line up against you. They have money, they have media, they have political power, they have propaganda power; thus, they create calamities. In the face of these, we must stand firm. Our nation has passed this test and has succeeded.

Today, the Islamic Republic system, in comparison to the Seventh of Tir in 1360, has changed dramatically in terms of power, progress, various capabilities, international credibility, and creating hope among nations. This is due to the steadfastness of our dear nation. Therefore, we must remember this principle from the incident of the Seventh of Tir: whenever a calamity and hardship is imposed upon us, if it is met with our patience, our steadfastness, and our insight, that calamity transforms into a ladder for ascension, for elevation, and for progress; and it has, God willing, and will continue to do so.

Regarding the Judiciary: the Judiciary needs two factors to be successful. In any system, in any society, the Judiciary is the resolver of disputes and the enforcer of justice against oppression, transgression, and corruption. In order for the Judiciary to succeed in this lofty goal, it needs two things: one is power and authority - it must be strong - the second is trust; that is, the people must trust it. The Judiciary needs these two things. The authority of the Judiciary can be secured with the same human and technical infrastructures - which the esteemed head of the Judiciary provided a description of the advancements in this area; I am also largely aware of the work that has been done - by strengthening internal structures, training and employing capable, knowledgeable, trustworthy, and righteous individuals, the Judiciary gains strength and authority. With the establishment of correct laws, appropriate oversight, utilizing various technical and organizational advancements, and learning from all over the world, this authority comes into existence. We are not ashamed to learn from others - we have repeatedly stated this. We will learn from any nation, any country, any judicial system in the world that has a good and clear point in its work; when our reason identifies this, then we will implement it. This is not following them; this is following reason; this is good. These bring authority to the Judiciary. A lot of effort, daily innovation, and creativity bring authority. One cannot just sit back and let things proceed in their ordinary course; the officials of the Judiciary must look, identify weaknesses, find problems, discover deadlocks, and resolve them with innovation; superior and outstanding minds can help; thanks be to God, they exist within the Judiciary, and we can also use those from outside the Judiciary. Technical infrastructures must be secured, human infrastructures must be secured; this creates the authority of the Judiciary; a strong and powerful Judiciary that has the capability to move towards its goals. This is the first pillar.

The second pillar - which is the trust of the people - will be possible through the establishment of justice, through precise and wise adherence to the law. The people must gain trust. When they see that the Judiciary acts according to its word in executing justice, they gain assurance. Even the one against whom a ruling has been made, when they reflect between themselves and their heart and their God, they will acknowledge that no, the truth is with that. They may not yield in speech and appearance, but they will accept it in their hearts. Therefore, a state of trust in the Judiciary arises. This trust is necessary.

Justice is important. If we want justice to have a permanent, general, and comprehensive flow in the Judiciary, piety and impartiality must prevail in the small and large incidents referred to the Judiciary; this must be observed by everyone, from top to bottom. This is a very important point. This will create trust.

One thing that is against the state of trust of the people is when individuals begin to cast doubt against the Judiciary - whether this Judiciary, the executive branch, or the legislative branch. A bad habit has developed - of course, this is not new; it has always existed; but now, because of the proliferation of mass communication tools, it is more evident - this bad habit is casting doubt in reports. The Judiciary reports, someone comes and says, how do we know these are true? They create a doubt. The executive branch reports, someone finds and says, how do we know these statistics are correct? They create doubt. The same issue exists regarding the legislative branch. One cannot trample the efforts of an active human collective with an unfounded objection and the creation of baseless doubts; this is wrong. Of course, one cannot prevent those who do not have the authority to speak; however, officials must be aware. Media that feel responsible must be aware; they should not question the official reports of the prominent officials of the system without reason. This applies to the Judiciary, the executive branch, and the legislative branch. Questioning activities and efforts wastes them. One sees that these days they are casting doubt on the statistics of the executive branch, on the statements and statistics of the Judiciary, on the positive actions and good activities of the legislative branch and the parliament; this destroys the trust of the people. As someone who is a listener and audience of these reports, we must look with awareness, but we must accept the reports. We must accept them. Of course, in some cases, a false statistic, an incorrect statistic, or a mistaken statistic may be given; this should not be generalized and doubted; this deprives the people of trust in the institutions of the system, in the bodies of the system. Officials must pay attention to this point. Therefore, this trust is also very important.

Another matter that must be considered regarding the Judiciary and the performance of the Judiciary and the feedback of this performance externally - which the esteemed head of the Judiciary also referred to - is: well, the Judiciary is faced with an accused person. Someone is accused in a certain sense; the Judiciary has the duty to investigate and clarify through the means prescribed by law whether this accusation is valid or not. Merely being accused is not a crime. Anyone can be accused of something. Until a crime is proven through legal means, neither within the Judiciary, nor outside the Judiciary, nor on official platforms and pulpits, nor in mass media, does anyone have the right to tarnish the reputation of a Muslim; this is a very important issue. Sometimes one sees pressure is being exerted on the Judiciary to say, reveal it. No, there is no need to reveal it. In specific cases, yes, the sacred law has specifically requested that people see the punishment or recognize the punished; these are specific cases, not applicable everywhere. Especially when there is a spirit of generalization in society that something is generalized beyond its specific case, one must be very cautious here. Until a crime is proven, certainly no one should be exposed; one should not even be placed in a state of accusation; because when you say someone is accused, public opinion does not distinguish between an accused who has committed no sin and one for whom there is evidence of sin. Even after the crime is proven, what necessity is there? I mentioned, except in specific cases; "And let a group of believers witness their punishment." We have a few such cases. Even if we assume that someone has committed a crime, and this crime has been proven in a competent court, and this person has been sentenced - suppose they have gone to prison - what necessity is there for us to publish their name in newspapers so that this person's child, who is going to school, will no longer have the courage to go to school? What harm is there in allowing this person to serve their prison term, come out, and continue their normal life with their family? Well, they committed a crime, they were punished, it is over. Must there be a public disgrace? This is a very important point.

Of course, the audience of this statement is not only the Judiciary; the officials of the Judiciary, those outside the Judiciary, and the media are the audience. Neither should the performance of the Judiciary be questioned; every action taken by the Judiciary should not be dismissed with the claim that there is something hidden behind it, that there is an ulterior motive - no, no one should act or speak this way - nor should individuals, merely because they have been accused in a certain sense, have this accusation made public. What pleasure does public opinion derive from this? What benefit does public opinion gain from knowing that Zaid, Amr, or Bakr is accused of such a wrongful act? These matters must be considered.

I mentioned; what guarantees all these matters is piety. Piety means that we are careful about our words, careful about our actions, careful about our orientations, careful about our behaviors. The smallest of our actions is recorded; "So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it. And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it." Our actions, our words, our expressions are all recorded; then we will be brought to question and answer. There is a court of justice in which one must answer. We will be held accountable. Piety means we must observe this, we must take care of this.

Thanks be to God, the Judiciary has made progress at every stage since the beginning of the revolution until today; it has had valuable advancements at every stage. Today, thanks be to God, the advancements of the Judiciary and the work being done within the Judiciary are truly promising. When one looks at this enthusiasm, this determination, this spirit of innovation, this hope that exists among the officials of the Judiciary and they are moving forward - thanks be to God, a knowledgeable movement, an innovative movement - one feels pleased; these are signs of the future.

We hope that the Almighty God accepts all of you and includes you in the prayers of the Blessed Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for him) and, God willing, may He make the sacred heart of that great one pleased with you. May God, God willing, make the pure souls of our dear martyrs and the pure spirit of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) pleased and satisfied with all of us.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.