Death Sentence Issued for Prisoner on Charges of 'Collaboration with Israel'

Reports from Iran indicate that Mohammad Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh, a political prisoner in Evin Prison, has been sentenced to death on charges described as 'collaboration with Israel.' According to these reports, Mahdavi Shayesteh, who is about 26 years old, made forced confessions during interrogation and investigation after his arrest last fall, under pressure and torture from the security forces of the Islamic Republic. These confessions formed the basis for numerous charges against him, including 'insulting the sanctities of Islam,' with the most significant being 'Article 6 of the Law on Countering Actions by Israel Against Peace and Security.' Consequently, this political prisoner's case was sent to Branch 15 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Judge Salavati, who issued the death sentence after the trial. This ruling was made despite the defense lawyers rejecting the charges due to a 'lack of evidence and documentation.' In recent years, several prisoners have been sentenced to death for espionage or collaboration with Israel, and some of these sentences have been carried out. For instance, Asghar Jahangiri, spokesperson for the judiciary of the Islamic Republic, stated on November 6 that three prisoners accused of 'espionage' for Israel have been sentenced to death. Two of these death row inmates are from Sardasht in West Azerbaijan Province, and the other is from Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. He added that 'eight individuals in West Azerbaijan Province' were arrested in connection with the 'transfer of assassination equipment' for Mohsen Fakhrizadeh 'under the guise of alcohol smuggling,' with three of them sentenced to death. He did not disclose their identities. Subsequently, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported on November 7 the identities of these individuals as 'Idris Ali and Azad Shojaei' from Sardasht and 'Resul Ahmad Muhammad' from Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, who were sentenced to death on charges of 'espionage for Israel' after enduring months of torture and forced confessions in the Revolutionary Court of Urmia. According to Asghar Jahangiri, the death sentences for three individuals were issued in the primary court and 'are currently in the appeal stage,' while the cases of other defendants remain open. In Bahman 1402 (January-February 2023), Iranian judicial authorities executed four members of the Komala Party on charges of 'espionage for Israel,' accusations that these political prisoners and their families denied, with their lawyer stating that the 'judicial process was unfair.' Five political prisoners called for public resistance against the death sentence, while lawyer Pakhshan Azizi deemed the 'evidence' against this death row inmate as 'unreliable.' Protests by dozens of Evin prisoners against the death sentences of six political prisoners and the execution of 11 prisoners in various cities of Iran were also reported. The death sentence for six political prisoners was issued on charges of 'baghi' (rebellion) based on 'the judge's knowledge.'