Maryam Abbasi-Nikoo Accused of 'Sabb al-Nabi'; Risk of Punishment for a Mother Arrested Instead of Her Daughter

A woman who was arrested in place of her protesting daughter during the protests against the poisoning of schoolgirls has been accused of 'Sabb al-Nabi'. The legal advisory group 'Dadban' reported on Thursday, August 17, citing an informed source, that agents entered the home of the parents of a 17-year-old student named Beita Shafiei on July 5, and while she was not home, 'beat her father and arrested her mother, Maryam Abbasi-Nikoo, instead of her daughter.' According to this report, security agencies have accused Maryam Abbasi-Nikoo of 'Sabb al-Nabi'. Under the laws of the Islamic Republic, the punishment for the accusation of 'Sabb al-Nabi' is death, which has raised concerns for Maryam Abbasi-Nikoo's family. Ms. Abbasi-Nikoo, born in 1981, has two children aged 17 and seven. She has been imprisoned in the Dowlatabad prison in Isfahan for 52 days without access to a chosen lawyer. According to the report, the agents had said they were taking her 'for a simple question and answer' and confiscated her mobile phone during the arrest while searching the house. Maryam Abbasi-Nikoo's case has been referred to the third branch of the Shahinshahr court, and the report states that the attribution of the charge of 'Sabb al-Nabi' to her is due to her activities on social media. According to Article 262 of the Islamic Penal Code, anyone who insults or offends the Prophet of Islam or one of the great prophets (Noah, Jesus, Moses, and Abraham) is condemned to death as a 'Sabb al-Nabi' (insulter of the prophet). Furthermore, according to Article 263 of the Islamic Penal Code, the realization of this crime requires 'the existence of intent, purpose, and will' of the perpetrator, and if someone speaks in a way that is considered insulting 'by mistake or inadvertently or in a state of anger and rage or without awareness of the meaning of the words,' they have not committed 'Sabb al-Nabi'. In May, 'Yousef Mehrad' and 'Sadrullah Fazeli Zare' were executed in Iran on charges of 'Sabb al-Nabi' and 'apostasy'. This action sparked protests. Saeed Arman, one of the organizers of a protest gathering in London, told Voice of America that 'no one should be executed for their beliefs' and that 'the accusation of Sabb al-Nabi is an insult to humanity and the aim of the execution is to suppress society.' Previously, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom had called for a reduction and cessation of harsh sentences under the pretext of 'insulting the sacred' worldwide. Nuri Turkel, the head of this commission, stated: 'Legal prosecutions and punishments related to insults to the sacred demonstrate a blatant disregard for human rights and often aim to create a confrontation between members of religious communities and other members of society, which must be stopped as soon as possible.'