Following unrest in parliament on January 11 and reports of an alleged physical attack on the MP Ali Motahari, a group of parliamentarians have launched an investigation into a series of events that led to a temporary suspension of parliamentary proceedings.
“There is no doubt that the behavior of those MPs will be reflected negatively around the world,” said Rasul Khezri, an MP for Piranshahr in West Azarbaijan. “We claim to possess a genuine authentic civilization and culture. What happened yesterday will certainly have negative outcomes for our prestigious noble nation.”
On Sunday morning, parliament descended into chaos when Motahari, whose father was one of the founders of the Islamic Republic, raised the issue of the continued house arrest of Green Movement leaders.
Speaking about whether the heated debate should have been permitted in parliament, Khezri said: “According to parliamentary regulations and other laws, MPs are free to express their views. It is the task of the Supervising Board to investigate the case, even in the absence of any complaints.”
Khezri told Iscanews that, according to the rules, “Any admonitions should be asserted after speakers finish their address. MPs are not allowed to interrupt other MPs’ speeches. It is the duty of the Majlis [parliament] presidium not to allow such things to happen and to protect the speaker.”
He requested that the presidium, parliament’s executive committee, intervene in the matter, conduct an investigation and report back to MPs on its findings.
According to the Khaleej-e Fars website, MPs verbally attacked Motahari during his speech to parliament, calling out: “Death to the hypocrite,” and “Death to the seditionist.”
Shortly after, a number of MPs, which included Safar Naimi Raz, Nader Qazipour, Sayed Mehdi Mossavinejad, Naser Sudani, Mahmoud Nabavian, Hosseinali Haji Deligani, rushed to the podium, demanding that he step down and issued further threats. Other MPs, including Abed Fatahi, attempted to mediate and get the situation under control.
According to news agency Tabnak, Fatollah Hosseini climbed up the podium to physically force Motahari from the stand, Motahari resisted. Other MPs then joined in the fracas, resulting in Motahari falling on the floor of the parliamentary assembly hall at one point.
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