On Nov. 29, Reformist lawmaker Mahmoud Sadeghi appeared before the special court for culture and media in Tehran to answer questions about his recent comments on possible corruption among senior officials. He has been released after introducing a bondsman to the court, the official IRNA news agency reported.

According to the semi-official Fars news agency, Sadeghi has been summoned several times since August but has refused to appear before the court, citing his legislative immunity. Two days earlier, on Nov. 27, judicial authorities attempted to arrest Sadeghi at his home in Tehran with an arrest warrant based on the plaintiffs’ case against him.

The attempt to arrest him was halted after parliament Speaker Ali Larijani — a brother of judiciary chief Sadegh Larijani — and Vice President for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Hossein Ali Amiri intervened in the case, ILNA news agency reported. A number of political activists also gathered in front of Sadeghi’s home to prevent the attempted detention.

The move to arrest Sadeghi appears to be the latest development related to the scandal over exorbitant salaries paid to state officials. Of note, intensified political infighting in recent months has also fueled the arguments over high salaries. On Aug. 10, when the debate was heating up, Iran’s parliament set up a new faction to supervise high wages and corruption. Sadeghi was elected as the head of this new faction, which was charged with helping ensure “transparency and purification of the economy.”