Request from Hundreds of Doctors: The Case of Hamid and Farzaneh Ghareh-Hosseinlou Should Be Reviewed in a 'Court Free of Any Bias'

More than 600 Iranian doctors signed a statement requesting a retrial for Hamid and Farzaneh Ghareh-Hosseinlou, calling for their case, related to the nationwide protests of 2022, to be reviewed in a 'court free of any bias.' In the letter published on Sunday, January 7, 2024, the doctors highlighted the 'serious illnesses' of Hamid and Farzaneh and the 'painful suffering of their children, relatives, and friends,' as well as the 'deprivation of patients from their medical services.' They urged high-ranking judicial officials of the Islamic Republic to accept the request for retrial. The letter was released simultaneously with the anniversary of the execution of Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Mohammad Hosseini, two defendants in this case, and expressed 'sympathy with the family of Rouhollah Ajamian' while emphasizing 'heartfelt disgust for any violent behavior towards any human being.' The letter stated: 'We protest against the heavy and unjust sentences issued against Dr. Hamid Ghareh-Hosseinlou and his wife, Ms. Farzaneh Ghareh-Hosseinlou.' The 602 doctors, whose names and medical registration numbers were included, added: 'Based on our close and long-standing acquaintance with the benevolent and humanitarian character of Dr. Ghareh-Hosseinlou, we find the attribution of his involvement in the alleged violence to be completely unjustifiable. Information received from the family and respected lawyers, as well as data published in official media, also support this view.' The signatories emphasized: 'We request the acceptance of the retrial and temporary release of these individuals until the case is re-examined in a court free of any bias.' They further stated that 'in a fair judicial process with the active presence of chosen lawyers, considering their statements in court rather than during interrogations, and focusing on solid evidence free from the political turmoil of recent crises,' judges 'in an independent court would certainly issue a different verdict.' Hamid Ghareh-Hosseinlou, a 53-year-old doctor, was one of five individuals sentenced to death in a preliminary ruling for 'killing a Basij member,' but this sentence was later overturned. In a new ruling by the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Alborz province in April of this year, Hamid Ghareh-Hosseinlou was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Additionally, Farzaneh Ghareh-Hosseinlou was sentenced to 5 years in prison in the appeals court. Hamid and Farzaneh Ghareh-Hosseinlou were arrested after a security forces raid on their home following the memorial ceremony for Hadis Najafi, one of the victims of the nationwide protests in Karaj. In an audio file received by VOA, Hamid Ghareh-Hosseinlou stated that he attended the memorial for Hadis Najafi on November 3, 2022, for his homeland and people, and approached Rouhollah Ajamian solely out of conscience and his 'medical oath' to save him, asserting that he had no involvement in the death of this young Basij member. In November 2023, Rouhollah Ajamian's father called for the execution of all defendants in the case, and Hossein Ajamian, the brother of the slain Basij member in the nationwide protests, stated that the executions of Mohammad Hosseini and Mohammad Mehdi Karami 'had nothing to do with the murder of my brother' and that 'their crime was waging war against God,' calling for the execution of Dr. Hamid Ghareh-Hosseinlou and his wife. The source of the article includes the websites of Ensaf News, Jamaran, and reports from VOA.