Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami accused on Wednesday the government and parliament of inaction against the violations of the Iranian people's rights.
Khatami also slammed a rise in the arrests of journalists and political activists on "intelligence-related charges.”
The former President expressed surprise that the government of President Hassan Rouhani and his deputies representing the reformists in parliament kept silence on injustices against the Iranian people.
“I am astonished that a government elected on the platform of providing people with their legal rights, as well as the pro-reform members of Majles (parliament), who boast about defending the nation and the constitution, do not step forward, and shout against this injustice,” he said.
He was speaking on Tuesday during a gathering of journalists on the occasion of Journalists Day.
Khatami, who worked on introducing reforms in Iran during his presidential term from 1997 to 2005, said: “The more people give up hope about reforms in Iran, the more likely they gravitate towards subversion.”
Also in his speech, Khatami lashed out at some Iranian officials who deny the presence of political prisoners or detained journalists in Iran.
This is the first time that Khatami criticizes his ally Rouhani since his election as president in 2013 and his re-election in 2017.
The former president’s comments came few weeks after a dispute in the Iranian parliament over Rouhani’s opposition to the calls of some deputies to present an annual report on his government’s performance.
Last month, the Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani quoted Rouhani as saying that presenting annual reports to the Majles by his administration is against the law.
