Death Sentence for Reza Rasayi Confirmed; Family Source: Do Not Let an Innocent Person Be Executed

Following reports of the confirmation of Reza Rasayi's death sentence, a source close to the family told Voice of America that Branch 17 of the Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic, presided over by "Judge Barani," has upheld the "Qisas" (retribution) sentence. The informed source, who requested anonymity, stated on Sunday, December 24, that Rasayi was also charged with "actions against national security," but now he has been sentenced to Qisas for murder. This source close to Rasayi also urged the public not to allow "another innocent person" to be executed. He emphasized that "Reza has suffered a lot" and "has grown up with many problems," and now "this is not his right," pleading with anyone with a conscience not to let "another innocent person" be hanged. Reza (Gholam-Reza) Rasayi, a protester following the "Ahl-e Haq" (Yarsan) faith in the city of "Shahneh" in Kermanshah province, faced charges of murdering a police officer after participating in the protests of November 2022 in the city and was sentenced to "Qisas." Protests in Iran began after the death of Mahsa Amini while in custody of the morality police in September of last year, with people participating in many regions of Iran. Ibrahim Allahbakhshi, a human rights activist, wrote on social media "X" regarding the issuance of the death sentence for Reza Rasayi, stating that Rasayi's family visited the judge's office at the Supreme Court on Sunday and learned that the sentence had been confirmed. Previously, a source close to Rasayi had told Voice of America that despite eyewitness testimony and contradictions in the statements of other defendants, the court issued a death sentence based on "judicial knowledge." According to this eyewitness, the incident leading to the death of Nader Birami on November 18 during the protests in Shahneh occurred after one of the officers got into a confrontation over mandatory hijab with one of the women present, and Nader Birami intervened and sprayed pepper spray on the people. He told Voice of America that "the people became angry" and while "someone shouted that Basijis and officers have attacked," the people also "attacked them" and "all the officers around Birami fled, leaving him alone in the middle." According to the informed source and based on the case documents, some attendees "stabbed him 9 times" and in the videos released from the scene of the altercation, "Reza is not in any of the films" and "when Reza arrives," Birami is "lying half-dead, and people are gathered around him watching, and Reza is one of those standing there looking." The source close to Rasayi's family had previously told Voice of America that "the forensic medicine and all investigations have been directed to the point that since there was a fatal blow, we must find a killer and execute him. This means they wanted to remove the case from the collective brawl context and find a killer for this individual." Additionally, Amnesty International had previously called for the "immediate cancellation" of Reza (Gholam-Reza) Rasayi's death sentence in a letter to Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the head of the judiciary of the Islamic Republic. Concurrently with the confirmation of the death sentence for Reza Rasayi in the Supreme Court, the sister of Mojahid Korkor also announced that the death sentence for this protester accused of "moharebeh" (waging war against God) and "ifsad fil-arz" (corruption on earth) in Izeh, Khuzestan province, has been confirmed in the Supreme Court.