Father of Mohammad Mehdi Karami Sentenced to One Year in Prison

The 12th Branch of the Alborz Province Court of Appeals sentenced Mashallah Karami, the father of Mohammad Mehdi Karami, an executed protester during the nationwide protests of 2022, to one year in prison. According to Ali Sharifzadeh, Mashallah Karami's lawyer, the appeals court overturned the initial ruling of approximately 9 years in prison and sentenced him to one year, but 'considering the ruling of the Revolutionary Court of Karaj, the confiscation of assets still exists.' According to the HRANA news agency, in this case, out of 10 defendants, seven were acquitted. Two others, who had previously been sentenced to 91 days in prison, were each fined 50 million tomans after a change in their sentences. Additionally, the 91-day prison sentence for one of the defendants was upheld. Ali Sharifzadeh Ardekani, Payam Darvishan, and Shahla Orooji, lawyers for some of the defendants, announced that the rulings issued on 10 Bahman were communicated to them. This comes despite the fact that the hearing for this case was held on 4 Ordibehesht. This ruling was issued while Mashallah Karami had previously been sentenced by Branch 102 of the Criminal Court of the second district of Nazarabad to eight years and 10 months in prison and a fine of 1.9 billion tomans. According to this ruling, issued on 2 Bahman, this father of a protester was sentenced to one year in prison for 'money laundering and acquiring illegitimate property,' in addition to the confiscation of his residential home and vehicle. Ali Sharifzadeh, Karami's defense attorney, had previously rejected any connection between the charges and his client's actions, emphasizing that Karami was merely distributing food and that the costs were covered by public donations. He also stated that relevant documents were submitted to the court but were not taken into account, and the confiscated assets had no connection to his client's security charges. Mashallah Karami is the father of Mohammad Mehdi Karami, an athlete and protester executed by the Islamic Republic. Mohammad Mehdi Karami was arrested during the nationwide protests of 2022 after participating in the memorial ceremony for Hadis Najafi and Parsa Razdoust, two deceased protesters, and was executed at dawn on 7 Dey along with Mohammad Hosseini in the case known as 'the murder of Basij member Rouhollah Ajamiyaan.' This father of a protester was arrested on 31 Mordad 1402 by the government forces of the Islamic Republic. Government agents confiscated all electronic devices and blocked the family's bank cards. Mashallah Karami currently has a sick child at home, and his wife is also suffering from illness. The conviction of Mashallah Karami, the father of the executed protester, is seen as a confirmation of imprisonment and fines for him and his supporters on the eve of the second anniversary of the killing of Mahsa Amini. A statement from 77 members of the families of the victims calls for the immediate release of imprisoned protesters and the reopening of cases for their deceased loved ones.