Everyone equal before the law: Iranian president

TEHRAN,June 22(MNA) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said all people are equal before the law and judges should prosecute cases filed against any official, regardless of their position. “All the country, from the highest official, who is the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution (Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei) to all people are equal before the law,” Rouhani said on Saturday in an address to a Judiciary conference, which the heads of the three branches of government attended. “The Judiciary is an independent branch, and no one is allowed to disrespect the Judiciary in the administration of justice,” he said. The Judiciary is independent and should administer justice based on the sharia (Islamic law), Rouhani said. “The presumption of innocence must prevail everywhere,” he stated, adding that factions and political groups have the right to make comments and criticism but they cannot issue rulings. Judiciary Chief Sadeq Amoli Larijani also made a speech at the conference, during which he said that the country’s laws are based on the Constitution and the sharia, adding that all the laws should be based on Islamic law. He stated that the three branches of government should cooperate, but judges should be independent in issuing rulings and implementing them. In his address to the conference, Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani said that the only way to realize justice is by making the Judiciary independent.