Supreme Court Overturns Death Sentence of Former Police Official Accused of Killing Mehran Samak

While human rights organizations have warned about the imminent execution of several political prisoners in Iran, the judiciary of the Islamic Republic announced that the Supreme Court has overturned the death sentence of a "former police official" accused of killing Mehran Samak during the nationwide protests of 2022. Mehran Samak, a 26-year-old protester from Anzali, was shot in the head and killed on December 8 of last year while people were honking and celebrating after the Iranian football team's loss to the United States. Following this incident, Jafar Javanmardi, the police commander of Anzali, was dismissed and arrested on charges of shooting the fatal pellet that killed Mehran Samak. The judiciary's news agency, Mizan, reported on Tuesday, January 15, without mentioning Jafar Javanmardi's name, that "according to the announcement from the judiciary's media center," the retribution sentence or death penalty issued by the lower court for the accused in this case has been "overturned by the Supreme Court" and "sent back for reconsideration to a parallel branch." In mid-June of this year, after the lower court's ruling in the case of Mehran Samak's death, Majid Ahmadi, the lawyer for the family of the deceased protester, noted that Jafar Javanmardi remained in custody and that the accused's lawyers had appealed this ruling, sending the case to the Supreme Court. The announcement of the reconsideration of the former police commander's charges comes more than a year after Mehran Samak's death, while several protesters were executed shortly after their arrests following hasty trials that independent human rights organizations deemed "unjust" and "non-transparent," and some remain at risk of execution. The killing of Mehran Samak faced significant criticism, including from a senior American senator. Lindsey Graham, a senior Republican senator in the U.S. Senate, described the killing of Mehran Samak as "horrific" and "cruel." During last year's nationwide protests, at least 500 people were killed and hundreds more injured. Dozens of protesters also suffered eye injuries, losing vision in one or both eyes. In recent days, Iranian judicial officials issued a death sentence for a Basij member, prison sentences or fines for three other Basij members and guards, and acquitted seven other members of the Revolutionary Guards and Basij in the case of Mohammad Jameh-Bazarg. Payam Darafshan, the lawyer for Jameh-Bazarg's family, attributed the "tragic death" of this citizen to a "series of negligence and failure to comply with regulations by the unit commander." The execution of protesters, political prisoners, and those convicted of drug-related crimes and murder by the Iranian judiciary has intensified in recent months. Abram Paley, the Deputy Special Representative of the United States for Iran, condemned the Iranian government's use of the death penalty again on Tuesday, January 15, one day after the execution of 13 Iranian citizens by the Islamic Republic. This U.S. official stated in a post on social media platform X that "the cruelty of the Iranian government in 2023 reached new levels with the execution of nearly 800 citizens—many of whom were executed following unfair trials and arbitrary detentions."