Tajikistan and Iran have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to expand the bilateral judicial cooperation.

Citing the Prosecutor-General’s Office of Iran, Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA reported on June 12 that  Iran's Prosecutor-General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri and Tajikistan’s Deputy Prosecutor-General Dilshod Talbakzoda have signed the document in Dushanbe.  

According to IRNA, the MoU, signed during Montazeri’s visit to Dushanbe, will focus on efforts made by the Office for International Cooperation of the Prosecutor-General’s Office of Iran and the Department for International Affairs of the Prosecutor-General’s Office of Tajikistan to boost the exchange of experiences and on the training of Iranian and Tajik experts in the field of fighting crimes, among other issues.

Recall, the press center of the Prosecutor-General’s Office of Tajikistan said on June 9 that Iran's Prosecutor-General, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, arrived in Dushanbe on June 8 on a working visit.

The visit reportedly took place at the invitation of Tajikistan’s chief prosecutor Yusuf Rahmon.  

The parties reportedly discussed cooperation in combating crime, extraditing and repatriating criminals.

Besides, taking into account the situation in Afghanistan, they exchanged views on  establishing the practice of prompt exchange of information, according to the Tajik Prosecutor-General’s Office.  

Meanwhile, the press center of the regional administration of the Tajik northern province of Sughd reports that Iran’s chief prosecutor, heading an Iranian delegation, visited the province on June 8.  He reportedly met with Sughd governor Rajabboy Ahmadzoda.  It was noted during the meeting that Sughd province is ready to expand cooperation with all regions of the Islamic republic of Iran.  

Iranian media reports say Montazeri’s visit to Tajikistan was reportedly in line with Iranian Judiciary's efforts to expand its cooperation with other countries.

The prosecutor-general of Iran (or attorney-general), in the judicial system of Iran, is a "just mujtahid" appointed by the head of the judiciary in consultation with the judges of the Supreme Court to serve for a period of five years.  As the head of the prosecutor-general's office, they supervise prosecutor's offices in the country.  At the same time, they have executive responsibility for law enforcement, prosecutions, setting priorities in the hearings of cases in their role as the head of the public prosecution for the state.

Mohammad Jafar Montazeri (born 1949 in Qom) is an Iranian cleric and judge and the current attorney-general of Iran since April 1, 2016.  He was previously head of Iran's Administrative Justice Court and Special Clerical Court.