The following is the full text of the speech delivered on June 27, 2004 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with judiciary officials on the occasion of the martyrdom anniversary of the martyrs of the 7th of Tir.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I would like to welcome the dear brothers and sisters, the officials in charge of the sensitive and important judiciary branch and the honorable and great families of the martyrs of the 7th of Tir - which was a sad event during which outstanding and prominent personalities of the country were martyred.
I would like to say a few things about the 7th of Tir event and its precious martyrs - particularly about the outstanding and prominent personality of the late Ayatollah Beheshti (may God bestow paradise on him). On the one hand, this event was really a sign that the people of Iran and the Islamic Republic were oppressed and on the other hand, it was a sign of the Islamic Republic's power and strength.
The Islamic Republic continues to be a manifestation of being oppressed. This is because the people who have held the flag of fighting against terrorism today but who are after conquering the world and achieving their materialistic and political goals behave in a friendly and brotherly way towards those cruel terrorists who created the event of the 7th of Tir. They support these terrorists and they cooperate and collaborate with them. They behave in a kind way towards one another. This is while they themselves acknowledged that they created this disastrous terrorist movement in our country. They even feel proud of it. This is the magnitude of oppression towards the people of Iran.
The event of the 7th of Tir is also a sign of power and strength. If someone knew Shahid Beheshti and his power of thought, determination and innovation in making decisions and taking action, they could understand perfectly what it means to eliminate such a personality from the management of the country. In fact, Shahid Beheshti was like a precious millstone that did tens of jobs with its rotation. Like a millstone, he generated energy, solved problems, moved forward and produced thoughts. When someone like this personality - who played a prominent role in the area of management, executive tasks, implementation, thinking, fiqhi and philosophical principles, experience, intellectuality and broad-mindedness - is taken away and eliminated from the management of a newly-established system, that system should normally become paralyzed. However, not only did the system not become paralyzed and disabled with the martyrdom of Beheshti and other such outstanding personalities, but it also became more active, enthusiastic and motivated as each of these martyrdoms pumped new blood into the veins of this young system. This means the strength of the system. The system has enjoyed this strength until today.
For this reason, our people do not express condolences for the martyrdom of martyrs contrary to what they do for those who pass away. When Beheshti was martyred, the people used to say, "Condolences and congratulations" because sorrow was accompanied by victory. This shows the identity of this system and Revolution.
Today, the event of the 7th of Tir is alive because both the perpetrators and Beheshti, the new founder and architect of the judiciary system of the country, are alive. The perpetrators of this crime were considered the most malicious criminals. This was because they had disguised themselves as friends, but they did what the most malicious enemies do.
If Shahid Beheshti was supposed to build a judiciary system in a country that did not have any judiciary system in the past, his responsibility would be much easier. Changing an inefficient system and building - which was a mixture of good and bad, and wrong and correct and which had wrong orientations - to a system whose goal was to adopt correct orientations and accomplish the task of Islamic justice is a very, very difficult task. You are still busy carrying out this difficult task and you should continue it.
Now, I would like to speak about the judiciary branch. As Mr. Shahroudi pointed out, at the end of his-five-year term and the beginning of a new term of responsibility, it is necessary for the officials of the judiciary branch to adopt a reformist outlook towards this branch. By Allah's favor, each and every day of the following five years should be used in the best way possible so that the most tasks can be carried out during these five years which is not a short time. Each of the tasks that have been carried out is valuable in its own. Without a doubt, on each step and rung of this long ladder, a necessary task has been carried out: an introductory step which is very essential. However, a person who pursues lofty goals is not satisfied with this introductory step. If we take 50, 90 and even 95 steps out of the 100 steps of the ladder, we have not reached the rooftop yet although we are close to reaching the goal.
You should take a look and see what the judiciary branch is expected to do. These expectations have been mentioned in our Constitution. If you take a look at the mentality of the people and Islam, you will see that the judiciary branch is expected to do something to make justice become tangible in the people's lives. The people should feel justice and this should become public. As I once said, you should act in a way that anyone who is subject to a small or great oppression becomes hopeful because they feel that they can go to the judiciary branch and get justice. This should exist at a public level. We have not reached that point yet. Of course, every achievement that we have made and every step that you have taken will be followed by divine rewards and the praise of wise individuals. Without a doubt, this is very, very valuable although no one may be aware of it. There is no doubt about this. What you have done tells of the values that exist in you. All the steps that have been taken are very valuable steps, but as long as we have not reached that point - which is an ideal point - all these steps are only an introduction. Such introductions should not make anyone satisfied. This is my main advice to all the officials of the judiciary branch.
The main advantage of the current conditions is that the condition of the judiciary branch and its excellent management is promising. Sometimes, you look at a group of people and feel disappointed, but sometimes you see certain capacities, personalities and resources that generate hope in your hearts. The judiciary branch is like this. Thankfully, we can see that an outstanding, knowledgeable, mujtahid and intellectual manager is in charge of the judiciary branch and that the body - from top to bottom - is formed of prominent judiciary and scholarly personalities. This is the capacity of the judiciary branch. Even if this tree does not bear good fruits, we know without any doubt that this tree will bear fruits in the future because it is healthy, talented and strong. Its root is healthy and its trunk is very tall. What is necessary for this tree to bear fruits is persistence and follow-up.
In the judiciary branch, the judge is the pivot. The others are all backups. All other people in the judiciary branch are like backup forces for the front line. The front line is the judge. What happens in the arena of judgment and on the scene of the court shows us that "The tree bears fruits" [speaking in Arabic]. It shows how things are behind the front line and front-line forces. You should act in a way that the arena of courts becomes an arena for justice.
Of course, there is no doubt that some people will continue to be dissatisfied, but this is not the main criterion because even those who are dissatisfied should know that "There is wide scope in dispensation of justice, and he who finds it hard to act justly will find it harder to deal with injustice" [Nahjul Balaghah, Sermon 15]. Justice solves problems for everyone, even for the condemned. If someone who has been found guilty in a just way and with the criterion of justice finds it difficult to accept his condemnation, they should know that if justice is based on oppression, this will be more difficult for them as well. This is because although they may be exonerated of their crime, they themselves will be subject to this injustice in hundreds of other cases in life.
Justice should be administered and it should not be under the influence of anything - including wealth, power and bureaucracy. If bureaucracy and our judiciary organizations create an obstacle in the way of justice, then it is harmful. Bureaucracy should be organized in a way that it helps justice because justice is the main criterion. Administering justice, asserting people's rights and condemning evil is the main criterion.
The Islamic government does not confront the people. Confrontation between a government and people exists in the discourse of tyrannical and dictatorial systems. As well as tyrannical and dictatorial systems, there are certain systems that are democratic on the face of it, but they are - in reality - dependent on the wealth, money and interests of some specific classes. These systems confront their people as well whether they admit it or not. However, in the Islamic government, the government is the people's agent. The government is in the hands of the people and it is their representative and servant. It is the people who are the owners of right. In such a government, the judiciary branch is a powerful arm which should catch wrongdoers whenever they commit a wrongdoing. It should not let them go. This is the great responsibility of the judiciary branch. You should not be afraid of uproar, invasions, accusations and slander. You should not be under the influence of others' show of power, money and the like. You should place great emphasis on these issues. The judiciary branch should think about judges.
One backup organization is the elite identification and cultivation organization. This means employing good staff and establishing a scholarly and educational organization in the judiciary branch. This organization should be diligent and work very hard. Another division is supervision organizations. The third division is managerial organizations and the fourth one is those organizations that supervise verdicts so that correct verdicts will be passed. This includes both supervision before and after passing verdicts. The fifth division is the organization that deals with the condemned so that justice is administered for them. Of course, all these divisions exist inside the judiciary branch. We should adopt such an outlook towards the judiciary branch.
On the issue of the condemned, we should not think that justice for those who have been sentenced to prison means sending them to prison and then releasing them after some time. This is only one part of justice. Another part is that prison should not be a place where they become corrupt or more corrupt and where their personality is annihilated. Sending someone to prison should not lead to the destruction of their family. The orientation that the judiciary branch has adopted today towards eliminating prisons is a very positive and good orientation. Of course, this task should be carried out with discipline, order, correct thinking and planning. However, the right direction is the direction that you have taken. We should not do something that causes the destruction of nobility, honor and values.
Of course, this is easy to say, but it is very difficult in practice. As the Commander of the Faithful said, "A right is very vast in description but very narrow in equitability of action" [Nahjul Balaghah, Sermon 216]. Justice is a very good thing in description. It enjoys a wide scope and we can speak at length about it, but when it comes to action, it becomes difficult. This difficulty does not mean that it is impossible. It only requires diligence, determination, follow-up, cooperation and the employment of knowledge, wisdom and acumen.
I hope that Allah the Exalted will reward and help all of you. What you are doing is one of the most important and valuable tasks. Anyone who renders services on this path should thank Allah the Exalted for giving them this great opportunity.
I hope that all of you will benefit from the pure prayers of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake). I hope that our dear martyrs, the martyrs of the judiciary branch and the martyrs of the 7th of Tir will benefit from divine mercy and blessings.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings