Lawyer of One of the Death-Sentenced Defendants in the Fake Alcohol Case: The 'High-Security' Court Was Held Without Defense Permission

The lawyer of one of the defendants in the case of producing and selling fake alcoholic beverages, who has been sentenced to death, reported that the court for the defendants was held in a 'high-security' manner and without allowing the defense lawyers to present their case. Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai stated that the fourth defendant, who has been sentenced to death, is a seller at a sanitary goods store. The case mentioned by Tabatabai is one of the controversial cases in Iran that emerged in June of this year regarding fake alcohol in Karaj, which resulted in the death and blindness of several consumers. The production of 'alcoholic beverages with industrial alcohol and water' ultimately led to the charge of 'corruption on earth' against 11 individuals. According to the issued verdict, defendants one to four were sentenced to death for 'corruption on earth' against the bodily integrity of individuals. Defendants five to nine each received five years of prison, the tenth defendant received three years, and the eleventh defendant received one year of prison. Now, Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai, the lawyer, believes that there are propositions that require 'special examination.' He emphasizes that this death-sentenced defendant [whom he represents] was selling 'ethanol' alcohol, which was permitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, some individuals used this alcohol to make alcoholic beverages, where in one case, the main distributor mislabeled 'methanol' as 'ethanol,' leading to fatalities among consumers of fake alcohol, and the seller was unaware of this issue. In July of this year, after several cities in Iran were affected by poisoning due to alcoholic beverages, the Chief Commander of the Police Force claimed that these poisonings were 'not serial,' and producers of fake alcohol have been arrested wherever poisoning was reported. Ahmadreza Radan stated that 'more than 32 individuals' have died in the past month. Tehran, Karaj, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Hormozgan, Sardasht, Robat Karim, and Baharestan were among the cities where alcohol poisoning led to deaths. The consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited under the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran, with punishments ranging from flogging to death. According to a report by the World Health Organization published in 2018, Iran ranks ninth in the world for alcohol consumption.