Lawyer of Mashallah Karami: My Client Finally Had a Chance to Defend Himself in Court

Ali Sharifzadeh Ardekani, the lawyer of Mashallah Karami, the father of Mohammad Mehdi Karami, one of the executed protesters from the 2022 protests, announced that he successfully found an "appropriate opportunity for defense" for his client during a court session on Tuesday, April 23, after eight months of his client's detention. He positively assessed the court session, which was held to examine the charges of propaganda against the regime and conspiracy against national security, stating to the 'Iran Watch' website: "The judge listened to our words, we reviewed the materials, and an appropriate opportunity for defense was provided to me and my client." According to the report, Mashallah Karami, who managed to attend his case hearing at the Second Branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Karaj after eight months of detention in Karaj Prison, had the chance to present his "defense arguments" alongside his lawyer. The reason for Mr. Sharifzadeh Ardekani's positive evaluation of this court was that "the judge listened to our words," the session lasted "until 2 PM," and the "process of the session was positive and the environment was calm." He added that "we will send the defense arguments and supplementary petition and await the court's decision" and expressed hope that "the outcome of the session will be positive." Mashallah Karami is the father and advocate 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 Rezadoust, two deceased protesters, and was executed at dawn on January 7 of that year along with Mohammad Hosseini in the case known as the "murder of Basiji Rouhollah Ajamian." Mashallah Karami was arrested by the security forces of the Islamic Republic on August 22 of last year. Security agents confiscated all electronic devices and blocked the bank cards of his family. During his detention, his family faced repeated harassment from the security forces, and in one instance, on November 3 of last year, when more than 70 days had passed since Mr. Karami's arrest, his wife and child were forced to leave their home due to "multiple raids" by agents. According to the Telegram channel of the 'Committee for Following Up on the Status of Detainees,' on December 20 of last year, an indictment against Mashallah Karami was issued by the Eleventh Branch of the General and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office in Karaj with charges such as "membership in groups and associations with the intent to act against national security, propaganda against the regime, insulting sacred values, forming a group to disrupt national security, and insulting the leadership." Earlier, the Committee for Following Up on the Status of Detainees had reported that heavy pressures were being exerted on Mashallah Karami to accept charges of "fraud and exploitation of people's emotions" and that a video of his forced confessions might be released in the future. Helga Limburg, a member of the German Parliament from the Green Party, who had taken political sponsorship of Mohammad Mehdi Karami, announced that she has also accepted the political sponsorship of his father and lawyer. Ms. Limburg stated in an interview with the Persian section of 'Voice of America' conducted on October 20 of last year, "We all saw those brave images of the father and mother of Mehdi Karami after his burial." She said, "They went to the grave of another prisoner killed by the Islamic Republic because no one was at their grave. They went to that grave, paid their respects, and left a sign indicating that no one will be alone in this world or the next."