Tehran Prosecutor: Lawyer of Mohammad Thalath to Face Legal Action

The Tehran prosecutor described the criticisms regarding the issuance and execution of the death sentence for Mohammad Thalath as an "onslaught" against the judiciary and identified Zeynab Taheri, one of the defense lawyers for this Gonabadi dervish, as someone who lacks "sufficient familiarity" with his case and has "provoked" public opinion. Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi made these remarks on Tuesday, June 18, during the third meeting of the Tehran prosecutor's office with media officials. His statements come after reports emerged from relatives of Ms. Taheri regarding her detention by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic. Before the execution of Mohammad Thalath, who was accused of killing three police officers with a bus during protests by dervishes around the home of Noor Ali Tabandeh, the leader of Gonabadi dervishes, she repeatedly stated that her client is "innocent." After Thalath's execution, she tweeted that she intends to publish "documents of his innocence." Meanwhile, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi defended the execution of Mohammad Thalath, claiming that "he was allowed to protest several times and, in general, more attention is paid to his rights and those of other defendants." The Tehran prosecutor, supporting the Supreme Court's rejection of Thalath's appeal, urged those without "jurisprudential knowledge" not to comment on the matter. Dolatabadi referred to Zeynab Taheri as someone who has "provoked public opinion and mobilized anti-revolutionaries against the judiciary." He added that "hostile" media published reports against the judiciary based on Taheri's assertion that Thalath was innocent. Dolatabadi accused Taheri of lacking "sufficient familiarity" with the case, stating that "this lady has not been the lawyer of the case from the beginning and was only the lawyer during the retrial stage." He announced that legal action would be taken against this lawyer. Mohammad Thalath was sentenced to death despite stating during his trial that he denied the intentionality of the killing of police officers. Zeynab Taheri, his lawyer, and his children claimed that Mr. Thalath was "arrested three hours before the incident and was not the bus driver." The execution of Mohammad Thalath has drawn significant international criticism, including from the U.S. State Department and the European Union. The EU condemned the execution, stating that his trial raised "serious questions" about the Islamic Republic's respect for "fundamental rights and due process." In another part of his remarks, the Tehran prosecutor referred to the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA and the return of sanctions against Iran, stating that with the return of sanctions, "the country will also face difficult conditions." Dolatabadi noted that Iran is in a "specific situation" and warned of the potential for "corruption" due to sanctions. He added that given Iran's conditions, which are heading towards "more problems," the media should not "discourage" the public. He referred to the statements of the Friday prayer leader of Iranshahr regarding the alleged rape of 41 individuals in that city, labeling it as part of "false and misleading news" that is "discouraging." The Tehran prosecutor, like Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the Attorney General of the country, denied this issue, adding that this case has only three plaintiffs. He also urged the media to avoid "portraying the Islamic system as ineffective," "disheartening the public," and undermining people's trust in officials. Montazeri had previously threatened Molavi Tayeb Malazahi, the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Iranshahr, that if he could not "prove" his claim, he would face legal action for "disturbing public opinion." Using reports from Tasnim, IRNA, and Radio Farda.