Isfahan Revolutionary Court Sentences Political Prisoner Mahmoud Mehrabi to Death on Charges of 'Corruption on Earth'

Mahmoud Mehrabi's defense attorney announced that the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Isfahan has sentenced this political prisoner to death on charges of 'corruption on earth.' According to a report from the Dabban Legal Advisors Group, Mahmoud Mehrabi has been in prison since Bahman 1401 (January 2023) and was charged with 187 allegations, including 'corruption on earth' in Mehr of this year. The attribution of the charge 'corruption on earth' and the issuance of the death sentence for this young protester in Dastgerd prison in Isfahan came after he expressed his views on social media platforms, including Instagram. Babak Farsani, a lawyer, wrote on Sunday, 16 Ordibehesht, on the social media platform X: 'My client Mahmoud Mehrabi has been sentenced to death by the 5th branch of the Revolutionary Court of Isfahan on the charge of corruption on earth.' This attorney also stated that his colleague observed the 'notification of the verdict without an attachment' by being present in the branch and studying the case. Babak Farsani expressed hope that 'serious objections to the verdict will be considered by the Supreme Court' of the Islamic Republic. Hajar Mehrabi, Mahmoud's sister, told Voice of America that 'today,' Sunday, her brother was 'taken from prison to court,' where 'the verdict was read to him verbally,' and the judge told him, 'We see no regret or remorse on your face.' According to Ms. Mehrabi, her lawyer, Ms. Kazemi, was also told, 'Due to national security issues, we are unable to provide a written verdict.' Ms. Mehrabi stated that in protest against her brother's detention, 'for over 16 months, she has stood every day in front of the UN headquarters in Vienna' holding his photo, saying that Mahmoud was in Vienna but 'returned to Iran' and 'stood and resisted with empty hands of power and politics. He stood and was the voice of the people. My brother did not choose to be gray. My brother was here in Vienna but returned to Iran and wanted to be in Iran and the voice of the people. He has been imprisoned and tortured for over 16 months.' She requested that 'be the voice of Mahmoud Mehrabi,' adding, 'My brother is one of thousands of prisoners who are anonymous and oppressed and have no voice. Do not discriminate between political prisoners and I ask you to be their voice. We have no one else but each other.' On the other hand, a social media account attributed to Maryam Mehrabi, another sister of Mahmoud Mehrabi, published a post stating that she intends to 'self-immolate' in protest against the death sentence for her brother in front of the house of Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Naseri, a professor at the seminary in Isfahan, on Tuesday. The Dabban Legal Advisors Group also announced that the indictment against Mahmoud Mehrabi last year on the charge of 'corruption on earth' was issued in the second branch of the public and revolutionary prosecutor's office in the city of Mobarakeh in Isfahan province 'based on the complaint of 77 plaintiffs,' and the charges were based on claims of 'widespread dissemination of falsehoods on Instagram, propaganda against the regime, inciting military and law enforcement forces to not perform their duties, inciting people to war and killing, and insulting the founder and leader of the Islamic Republic.' According to this legal group, the issuance of this indictment on the charge of 'corruption on earth' against Mahmoud Mehrabi 'is while there is no concrete evidence in his actions indicating the commission of this criminal act in reality' and 'the lack of any concrete evidence for attributing this charge against Mahmoud Mehrabi becomes more apparent' when the indictment states that the charge of 'spreading falsehoods' caused 'disruption of public order in the country and significant damage to public property.' The Dabban Legal Advisors Group stated that 'the reliance of the indictment on the complaint of 77 individuals against Mahmoud Mehrabi and the attribution of 187 charges to him aims to broadly depict his criminal activity and consequently attribute the charge of corruption on earth, which is a clear indication of heavy case fabrication by intelligence and security agencies against this political prisoner.' Gohar Eshghi, the mother of the late blogger and worker Sattar Beheshti, who was killed in custody, reacted to the issuance of the death sentence for Mahmoud Mehrabi on X, writing: 'The criminal Khamenei and his executioners have decided to turn our country into a graveyard; with death sentences, he wants to create fear and drive us apart. We must stand together, unite, and strike; the lives of our children are at risk.' The issuance of the death sentence for Mahmoud Mehrabi comes after reports of the sentencing of Tomaj Salehi to death in the Revolutionary Court, which has sparked a widespread wave of global protests.