According to Iranian domestic media, Saeed Toosi, a prominent Quran reciter, is in critical condition.
In 2017, Toosi was accused of sexually abusing several teenagers. However, the legal proceedings were obstructed due to pressure from institutions with close ties to the highest levels of power in the Islamic Republic, prompting repeated protests from the plaintiffs.
In June 2021, one of the accusers stated that Ebrahim Raisi, then head of the judiciary, had refused requests to re-examine the allegations or forward the case to the Supreme Court. The plaintiff claimed Raisi “did nothing” to bring justice to the case.
The plaintiff also criticized the extensive interference of Gholam-Hossein Esmaeili, the judiciary’s spokesman at the time, and noted that the accusers had expected Raisi to hold him accountable. Esmaeili served as the judiciary spokesman from 2019 to 2021 and as Raisi’s presidential chief of staff from 2021 until 2024. He currently serves as a judge in the Supreme Court.
In June 2022, Masoumeh Ebtekar, who served as Vice President for Women and Family Affairs under the Hassan Rouhani administration, acknowledged the obstruction. “They absolutely did not allow the Saeed Toosi case to be opened and the issue to be properly addressed,” she said, adding that sexual abuse “exists in all professions, even in religious circles.” Ebtekar did not specify which individuals or institutions prevented a fair and impartial investigation into the case.
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