Death Sentence for Hashem Aghajari - 2002-11-07

A prominent reformist scholar in Iran has been sentenced to death for insulting the Prophet Muhammad and questioning the strict interpretations of Islam by conservative clerics in a trial without a jury in Hamadan, western Iran. According to reports, Hashem Aghajari, a university professor and prominent reformist, was sentenced to death by a court in Hamadan in the absence of a jury. Aghajari was arrested two months after he challenged the interpretations of hardline clerics in Iran during a special student meeting in Hamadan in June. His lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht, stated that Aghajari, a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Mojahedin Organization, was also sentenced to 74 lashes and a 10-year ban from teaching at the university. Additionally, he faces an 8-year exile to three remote cities in Iran. Iranian revolutionary courts often impose multiple punishments in cases where they want the sentence to serve as a lesson for other like-minded individuals. In such cases, it is clear that, apart from the death penalty, other punishments will not be enforceable. Nikbakht insists that Aghajari never insulted the Prophet Muhammad in his speeches, stating that there is not a single offensive word against the Prophet in all of his statements. He described the Hamadan court's ruling as a verdict against Iran's national interests. Aghajari had stated that religious teachings in Islam are considered sacred because they are part of history. He questioned the exclusive right of the clergy to interpret Islam. In his important speech in Hamadan, he said that people should not blindly imitate the orders of religious leaders. He compared the powers of Iran's conservative clergy to those of medieval Catholic popes. Ali Shakouri Rad, a reformist member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, commented on Aghajari's conviction, stating that he believes this ruling was issued to intimidate reformists and has no connection to the pursuit of justice. Given that the ruling against Hashem Aghajari was issued at a time when President Khatami's proposed bills to limit the powers of conservatives and the judiciary are the most significant political issue in Iran, key unelected and appointed institutions of leadership in the Islamic Republic have effectively confronted the reform movement in Iran with this ruling.