TEHRAN, 02 July 2021, (TON): State media reported “Iran’s Supreme Leader appointed hardline cleric Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei as the new head of the judiciary, a body that enforces Islamic laws and is accused by rights groups of cracking down harshly on dissent.”

Ejei, a long-term judicial official and former intelligence minister, replaces Ebrahim Raisi, who is due to become president in early August after winning a June 18 election.

Ejei’s appointment by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei comes as Iran faces renewed criticism by Western human rights groups and international bodies over the election of Raisi, who is accused by critics of a series of abuses during his judicial career. He denies wrongdoing.

In a statement, Khamenei urged Mohseni Ejei to “promote justice, restore public rights, ensure legitimate freedoms, and oversee the proper implementation of laws, prevent crime, and resolutely fight corruption.”

The U.N. investigator on human rights in Iran has called for an independent inquiry into allegations of state-ordered executions of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 and the role played by Raisi as Tehran deputy prosecutor.