Mohammad Javad Vafaee Sani, Political Prisoner, Sentenced to Death for the Third Time

The lawyer of Mohammad Javad Vafaee Sani, a detained protester in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, announced that the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Mashhad has issued a new death sentence for his client. This ruling comes despite the fact that the Ninth Branch of the Supreme Court had previously opposed the death sentence for this political prisoner for the second time and referred his case for reconsideration to a parallel branch. Babak Paknia, the lawyer of this political prisoner, wrote in a post on the social media platform 'X': 'Regarding Mohammad Javad Vafaee Sani, despite the annulment of the sentence by the Supreme Court, the majority of the judges (advisors of the Third Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Mashhad) issued a death sentence for the third time, opposing the reasoning of the Supreme Court judges, on the charge of corruption on earth.' Mr. Paknia added that this ruling is subject to appeal. The death sentence for this athlete, who was arrested following the nationwide protests in 2019 in Mashhad, was annulled once in December 2021 and again in June 2022 by the Supreme Court. Mohammad Javad Vafaee Sani, born in 1995 and a champion boxer from Mashhad's educational institutions, has been accused of 'corruption on earth' through 'arson and destruction of specific places including the government punishment building,' an accusation that this political prisoner has denied. He has also been accused of 'participating in the November 2019 protests and protesting the downing of the Ukrainian airplane and propaganda against the regime.' Activists and human rights organizations have reported torture of this protester during detention and have protested against his death sentence. The National Council of Resistance of Iran, following the reissuance of the death sentence for Mohammad Javad Vafaee Sani, stated in a statement that this political prisoner is a supporter of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran and called the courts of the Islamic Republic 'kangaroo courts' and their rulings 'oppressive.' This council had reported on Wednesday, September 19, that the judiciary of the Islamic Republic had sentenced 'two political prisoners who are supporters of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran,' named Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hasani, to death. The council called on the High Commissioner and the Human Rights Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, the international fact-finding committee, as well as the European Union and its member states to 'take immediate action for the release of political prisoners and to save the lives of Mohammad Javad Vafaee Sani, Behrouz Ehsani, Mehdi Hasani, and other prisoners at risk of execution.' The National Council of Resistance of Iran reported the issuance of death sentences for two supporters of the People's Mojahedin Organization. French unions called for the release of imprisoned labor and trade activists in Iran. The execution of at least six prisoners coincided with the hunger strike of prisoners in the 'Tuesdays No to Execution' campaign in Shiraz and Gorgan. The European Union, on the second anniversary of the killing of Mahsa Amini, called for accountability for those responsible for violence and human rights violations in Iran. A joint statement from the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom on the second anniversary of Mahsa: We stand with Iranian women and girls.