Ayatollah Replaces Chief of Judiciary

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, replaced the head of the judiciary in a move that pro-reform groups hope will soften the courts’ tough stance against them. Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi, an Iraqi-born Shiite Muslim cleric of Iranian descent, will replace Ayatollah Mohammed Yazdi, an outspoken critic of President Mohammad Khatami’s liberal reforms. Yazdi, a staunch conservative who is stepping down after 10 years at the head of the powerful judiciary, has been at odds with Khatami’s pro-reform allies, and his courts have imprisoned many liberal journalists and Islamic intellectuals. Hashemi, 51, has taken a low profile so far in Iran’s political infighting, earning himself modest support from both conservatives and reformers. News reports suggest that major change in the upper ranks of the judiciary may soon follow. The judiciary is independent from Khatami’s administration and is among many powerful institutions in the Islamic republic under direct control of Khamenei.