TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad clashed Monday with the country’s judiciary over his right to visit the prison where a jailed aide is held, in a new sign of the leader’s waning influence.
He accused the judiciary of “unconstitutional” behavior and said he did not need permission to visit Evin prison, north of Tehran, as he was Iran’s president.
Iran’s state prosecutor said Sunday that the judiciary has rejected Ahmadinejad’s request to visit Evin prison, where top press adviser Ali Akbar Javanfekr is held, saying the president’s planned visit appeared to be politically motivated.
Ahmadinejad responded with a letter addressed to Iran’s head of judiciary, Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, posted on the presidential website.
“I have to remind you that in the constitution, there is nothing that requires asking the permission or agreement of the judiciary when it comes to exercising the president’s legal duties,” Ahmadinejad wrote, according to the Iranian Students’ News Agency.
