Reports of Possible Execution of Mohammad Javad Vafaee Saani; Babak Paknia: The Verdict Has Not Been Communicated

Following concerns about the potential execution of Mohammad Javad Vafaee Saani, a political prisoner, his lawyer Babak Paknia announced that "the verdict has not been communicated to me or my colleague yet." On Thursday, July 29, Paknia stated on Twitter that even if a verdict is communicated, it can be contested in the Supreme Court within 20 days. Mohammad Javad Vafaee Saani, born in 1995, was arrested on February 7, 2020, in Mashhad and accused of "corruption on earth" through "arson and destruction of specific locations including the building of the government’s punishment organization," an accusation he has denied. He has also been charged with "participating in the November 2019 protests and protesting the downing of the Ukrainian airplane and propaganda against the regime." According to his lawyer, the Fourth Branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mashhad "issued a death sentence," but following an appeal, the initial court's ruling was "overturned" and sent back to the Second Branch of the Revolutionary Court for re-examination. The lawyer added, "If the parallel branch insists on the death penalty, it can again be contested in the Supreme Court." According to some reports, officials at Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad removed the 27-year-old political prisoner Mohammad Javad Vafaee Saani from his ward and placed him in solitary confinement on Wednesday, July 28. Previously, Arash Sadeghi, a human rights defender, had urged human rights organizations in an interview with the Persian section of Voice of America to pressure the Islamic Republic to revoke "unjust sentences" including the death penalty for Mohammad Javad Vafaee Saani, who, according to him, has not received a "fair trial." The news agency of the Human Rights Activists in Iran recently reported that the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic has executed nearly five thousand Iranians in the past ten years, among whom over 40 were children and underage. Furthermore, in recent months, Iranian officials have executed at least nine individuals in connection with nationwide protests, and dozens of protesters remain at risk of execution.