The political developments that have taken place in Iran during the past two decades have surely created some sworn enemies for the Islamic Republic on the international scene and also among the Western-oriented individuals in the country. Although the threat posed by the enemies is not going to be underestimated, the lack of prudence in judgment shown by some officials should not be taken to be a point of strength of the enemies.

Here, we do not intend to pass any judgment on the charges made against those arrested during the recent days. But we cannot avoid expressing regret over the initial explanations provided by a judicial official with regard to the recent arrests. The official said that those arrested intended to create unrest at universities by holding gatherings and giving speeches. He also added that some of the detained individuals would be released following interrogation.

Considering that some of the arrested old politicians were not ready to take any political risks even when they were young, how can it be accepted that the action taken by this judicial official was wise and prudent?

The political system of the Islamic Republic is now the scene of real and serious political rivalry. Thus, it is natural that such politicians may use the presently existing free political atmosphere and engage in certain hostile political activities. But if the measures taken by the judicial officials were based on prudence, they would not have the ground to maneuver with such activities.

Undoubtedly the way to control such ineffective political activities is not through giving prominence to such individuals by detaining them, even for a short time. Detention is a political advantage that most long-established governments of the world do not so easily give to their opponents, but they instead try to keep their activities under surveillance.

Unfortunately, the notion that a judge should not have political leanings has been construed by our Judiciary as not having political prudence.

We never intend to ignore the hostilities against the Islamic system, but we also know the real worth of these petty opponents very well. Thus, we believe that in order to counter the hostilities, especially the effective ones, we are in need of more political prudence.