Details of charges against the accused

[Clerk of the court] In view of the above points and the totality of evidence and documents, as well as the details of the case, Mr Gholamhoseyn Karbaschi, son of Mohammad Sadeq, birth certificate number 56732, issued in Qom, born in 1332 [1953-54], married, Muslim, literate, Iranian, mayor suspended from office, is accused in this case of:

1. Involvement in the misappropriation of funds to the sum of 14,530m rials, plus 90,000 American dollars, 60 full Bahar-e Azadi coins, and 80 half Bahar-e Azadi coins.

2. Involvement in the receipt of bribes.

3. Abuse of public property and the infringement of people' s rights.

4. Staking illegitimate claims to public property.

5. Connivance in the course of government transactions and transferring illegitimate property.

Mayor rejects charges as "baseless nonsense"

[Judge Mohseni Ezhe'i] The first charge against you is: you are accused of involvement in the misappropriation of funds to the sum of 14,530m rials, as well as 90,000 American dollars and 60 full Bahar-e Azadi coins and 80 half Bahar-e Azadi coins. Do you accept this charge or not?

[Karbaschi] May I speak?

[Judge] You may speak. That is what it means when I ask a question. Do you accept this charge or not?

[Karbaschi - begins to recite prayer] "In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Oh God, grant me self-sufficiency within myself and grant me certitude in my heart"...

[Judge - interrupting] Could you answer me first. Do you accept it or not?

[Karbaschi] This cannot be the way things are done. Just saying: will you answer me or not. I have things to say in court. Do you want me to say what I have to -

[Judge - interrupting] You can say what you have to say. There is nothing wrong with that. You will -

[Karbaschi - interrupting] I do not accept any of the points you raised. It is all baseless nonsense. And I have explanations to present to the court.

Competence of court questioned

[Karbaschi] On the whole, I should let you know that, for various reasons, I do not accept that this court has jurisdiction over this case. Before investigation begins on this case other investigations should be carried out by disciplinary and military courts to find out about irregularities. If investigations by those courts show that irregularities have indeed taken place, then...

[Judge - interrupting] All the existing evidence will be submitted. You did not ultimately explain disciplinary or non-judicial irregularities...

[Karbaschi - interrupting] All the confessions submitted to you have been gathered together by force, under pressure and using illegal methods...

[Judge - interrupting] OK, please excuse me, if you see that I base my judgement merely on those remarks, then you can say that the judgment is erroneous because it has been based on confessions by those people. But, you will see that I am not going to base my judgment merely on what they have said.

[Karbaschi] I do not want to raise doubts about your fairness or the methods you are using. But, as your excellency knows, the information which is available to a judge is crucial ...

Trial adjourned until Thursday

[Judge]: It is now 10 minutes before one o'clock, and I shall now adjourn the hearings. I once again request all the people who are present here not to come forward under any circumstances, and the gentlemen who are sitting behind the chain should leave via the exit door behind them. The accused and his defence lawyers must come and sign the minutes prepared by the court. No-one should come forward. The next hearing has been scheduled for next Thursday [11th June] at 0900 in the morning at this same place.