18 Political and Human Rights Activists Demand Cancellation of Mohammad Ali Taheri's Death Sentence

On Thursday, October 5, 18 political and human rights activists condemned the death sentence issued for Mohammad Ali Taheri, the founder of the Circle of Mysticism, in a statement and called for the cancellation of this sentence and his "immediate and unconditional" release. According to the Khabar website, close to Mir Hossein Mousavi, the authors of this statement described Mohammad Ali Taheri's case as "one of the most unjust judicial and ideological cases in Iran" and deemed the Revolutionary Court's reasoning for issuing the death sentence as "flawed." They wrote that Mr. Taheri, during the six years since his arrest, has been "repeatedly tried and acquitted on charges deserving of death, and another case was opened against him to fulfill the will of the security agents who were determined to execute him." The signatories of this statement added that although in the latest ruling from the Supreme Court, Taheri was completely acquitted of the charge of corruption on earth, the "entire ruling issued by the Revolutionary Court cited his beliefs and thoughts and issued a death sentence." The statement called on the Supreme Court to respect its independence and "prevent further illegal actions in this case." According to this statement, the case of the founder of the Circle of Mysticism has been "sent to Branch 33 of the Supreme Court for the relevant judges to issue a judicial ruling again; judges who had previously issued a ruling of acquittal based on old and new laws and the non-necessity of obtaining a fatwa in this case." The signatories referred to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 23 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the right to freedom of expression and belief, adding: "Since Iran has signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights... it has no right to punish its citizens for having specific beliefs, especially to expose them to the death penalty." These 18 individuals, while calling on human rights activists to work towards "respecting the human rights" of Mohammad Ali Taheri, demanded the cancellation of the death sentence and his "immediate and unconditional" release. This statement was signed by prominent figures including Nasrin Sotoudeh, Giti Pourfazel, Mohammad Seifzadeh, Abolfazl Ghadiani, Mohammad Maleki, Ahmad Montazeri, and Mohammad Nourizad. Mohammad Ali Taheri established an organization called "Circle of Mysticism" in 2001 and engaged in activities related to "Iranian complementary medicine, advanced therapy, and Scientology." He was arrested in 2011, and the initial sentence issued for him was also "death." However, his death sentence was overturned by the Supreme Court last year, and the case was referred back to the Revolutionary Court for reconsideration. The new death sentence for Mohammad Ali Taheri was issued while his lawyer had reported last February that a decision to drop the charges of "insulting the Prophet," "apostasy," and "connection with the Fedayeen Khalq guerrillas" had been issued and finalized. Supporters of Mohammad Ali Taheri have also held several protests in recent years, and some of them have been arrested and imprisoned in various cities of Iran. Some conservative media had previously reported that three religious authorities, including Naser Makarem Shirazi, Lotfollah Safi Golpayegani, and Mohammad Ali Alavi Gorgani, had issued a fatwa declaring Taheri's apostasy. In this context, Mohammad Ali Taheri's lawyer announced the reissuance of the death sentence for him, and a letter signed by "three thousand people" protested against "pressure on the judges" of the case of the founder of the Circle of Mysticism. Twelve other members of the "Circle of Mysticism" were arrested in Isfahan, and several others were detained on charges of "religious deviation" by the IRGC's intelligence. Eleven members and supporters of the "Circle of Mysticism" were arrested in Najafabad, Isfahan.