Mohseni Ejei: The verdict for Mohammad Ali Taheri is not yet final

Following reports regarding the death sentence for Mohammad Ali Taheri, the founder of 'Erfan Halqeh', and its subsequent denial by the Iranian judiciary's news agency, the spokesperson for this institution now states without confirming or denying it that 'even if a verdict has been issued, it is not final.' Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson and first deputy of the Iranian judiciary, told the Fars news agency on July 4 that 'his verdicts are still not final, and I inquired about the issues raised from the judge to confirm or deny them, but even if a verdict has been issued, it is not final.' Just a few days prior, on June 30, an 'informed source' in an interview with the Mizan news agency, which belongs to the judiciary, denied the issuance of a death sentence for Mohammad Ali Taheri, emphasizing that his verdict 'has not been issued to date.' A judicial official also told the Tasnim news agency that the case is still under review and the judge has not entered the verdict issuance stage. In Mr. Ejei's comments regarding the possibility of the verdict not being final, it is unclear whether the verdict for the founder of 'Erfan Halqeh' has been issued, and whether according to initial reports this verdict is a death sentence or not. Earlier, Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai, Mr. Taheri's lawyer, stated that Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court issued a death sentence for his client 'on charges of corruption on earth,' but the court 'has not yet notified it.' Mohammad Ali Taheri established an institute called 'Erfan Halqeh' in 2001, which reportedly provided services related to 'Iranian complementary medicine, transcendental therapy, and scimentology.' He was arrested ten years later. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran states that Mr. Taheri was also arrested once in 2010, from which he was released after spending 67 days in solitary confinement. Amnesty International expressed concern in May regarding the potential issuance of a death sentence for Mohammad Ali Taheri.