A year after the election of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani’s preferred candidate, Hassan Rouhani, as president of Iran, Rafsanjani's own chances of being elected chairman of the Assembly of Experts are ever increasing. In response, it appears that conservatives in Iran are trying to attack and weaken Rafsanjani by putting one of his sons on trial.
On Aug. 2, the first session of the trial of Mehdi Hashemi — Rafsanjani’s second son — was held behind closed doors, presided over by Judge Mohammad Moghiseh. Moghiseh is known for having imposed long prison sentences on journalists, student activists and high ranking Reformists.
