Establishment of a Parallel Branch in the Revolutionary Court to Address Mohammad Ali Taheri's Case

The defense attorney for Mohammad Ali Taheri, the founder of the Circle of Gnosis, announced the establishment of a parallel branch to address his client's case. The news agency ISNA reported on Tuesday, December 21, citing Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai regarding the latest status of his client's case. According to Mr. Alizadeh Tabatabai, this decision was made due to the repeated annulment of Mohammad Ali Taheri's death sentence, which was issued by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court, by the Supreme Court. Following the repeated annulment of Mr. Taheri's death sentence, the case has been referred for re-examination to a parallel branch - Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court - at the discretion of the judges of the Supreme Court. As Mr. Tabatabai stated, the reason for the annulment of Taheri's death sentence in the previous period was also due to 'deficiencies in the investigations.' On November 7, following the annulment of his client's death sentence by the Supreme Court of Iran, Mr. Alizadeh Tabatabai referred to the judges of the Supreme Court as 'thoughtful' and stated that 'if a wrongful sentence is issued in court, it will be examined more thoroughly in the Supreme Court.' Mohammad Ali Taheri, the founder of the Circle of Gnosis, has been in detention since 2011 and was first sentenced to death in August 2015 on charges of 'corruption on earth.' However, the sentence was annulled in December of the same year due to what was described as incomplete investigations regarding the charges against him, including 'insulting the Prophet, apostasy, and conspiracy against national security.' Mr. Taheri was again sentenced to death in September of this year on charges of 'corruption on earth,' which the Supreme Court annulled again in early November. In addition to Mr. Taheri, several of his supporters have also been arrested in various cities in Iran, including Tehran, Shiraz, and Isfahan. They have repeatedly protested both inside and outside the country against his detention. Previously, human rights organizations, including the UN Human Rights Office, Amnesty International, and the US State Department, had criticized the issuance of a death sentence for Taheri and expressed concern. In this context, the latest status of Mohammad Ali Taheri's case and some other political-prisoners is as follows: The attorney for Mohammad Ali Taheri: I have heard about the annulment of his death sentence. A request from 18 political and human rights activists to abolish Mohammad Ali Taheri's death sentence. Three members of the 'Circle of Gnosis' were arrested in Tehran. The US State Department expressed 'deep' concern over the issuance of a death sentence for Mohammad Ali Taheri. The attorney for Mohammad Ali Taheri announced the reissuance of the death sentence for him.