Death Sentence Issued for Manouchehr Fallah, Political Prisoner

A human rights organization reported that Manouchehr Fallah, a political prisoner, has been sentenced to death by the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Rasht on charges of 'Moharebeh' (waging war against God). According to the report by the Human Rights Activists in Iran on Sunday, February 3, the death sentence for Manouchehr Fallah, who is currently held in Lakan Prison in Rasht, was issued by the second branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Rasht, presided over by Darvish Ghotar, and was communicated to his two lawyers just hours ago. A source close to Manouchehr Fallah told HRANA, the media outlet of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, that this political prisoner has been 'deprived of the right to access a lawyer since the beginning of the judicial proceedings.' Mr. Fallah, who previously resided on Kish Island and was a 'tattoo artist,' was arrested in July 2023 by the intelligence forces of the Islamic Republic at Rasht Airport. Iranian judicial authorities have initiated two cases against this political prisoner. In the first case, in December of last year, the third branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Rasht sentenced him to about two years in prison for 'insulting the leadership and propaganda against the regime,' and after 'submission to the verdict,' a quarter of his prison sentence was deducted, and Mr. Fallah's sentence in the first case ended in May of this year. However, in the second case, a court session via video conference for Manouchehr Fallah was held on December 12 of this year in the second branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Rasht, and this political prisoner was sentenced to death on charges of 'Moharebeh.' The human rights organization 'Hengaw' announced on Saturday, February 2, that at least 87 prisoners were executed in the prisons of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the past month (January).