Sadegh Amoli Larijani, the Chief of Islamic Republic Judiciary claimed that there are no political prisoners in Iran.

While referring to the upcoming mass pardon of 50000 prisoners, he said that “some turn this great act into a political one” and “unfortunately some people even in the executive branch have said that the pardons should include the critics”.

He claimed that this demand is misleading because: “They pretend as if there are people in prison simply for criticizing the regime. This is a big lie. The judiciary has never prosecuted anyone for criticism.”

Despite Larijani’s claims, propaganda against the regime is a regular charge for which political activists are imprisoned.

 Larijani then talked about the European trade mechanism which he considered insignificant and said that the European countries have introduced negotiation over Iran’s missiles and joining FATF as preconditions for the trade channel.

He stressed that the Islamic Republic “will never accept these humiliating conditions.”

He described the EU preconditions as strange and said: “Is the Islamic Republic unable to supply its food and medicine? Were food and medicine sanctioned in the first place? So why are they pretending that this channel is an advantage for us?"

Larijani’s comments as the head of the judiciary and also the chair of the Expediency Discernment Council stands in the opposition to President Rouhani’s position who had thanked the parliament for passing the FATF related bills.