The Case of Benefactors Linked to Mashallah Karami, Father of Executed Protester, Closed

The lawyer for the benefactors accused in the case of Mashallah Karami, the father of one of the executed protesters in 2022, announced that these individuals have been acquitted of all charges. At the same time, Ali Sharifzadeh, Mr. Karami's lawyer, reported: "The eight-year and ten-month prison sentence, confiscation of assets, and monetary fines against Mashallah Karami were overturned in the appellate court of Karaj, and he was only sentenced to one year in prison." Payam Darafshan, a lawyer, wrote on Wednesday, January 30, that the benefactors in this case were acquitted of all charges including complicity in acquiring property through illegitimate means and money laundering, and consequently, their second case was completely closed. Mr. Darafshan had previously reported that the benefactors were accused of "complicity in acquiring illegitimate property." The 102nd branch of the Criminal Court 2 of Nazarabad County had sentenced Mashallah Karami to seven years and eight months in prison for "participation in money laundering" and fourteen months for "acquiring property through illegitimate means." The court considered public donations to this grieving father as evidence of "acquiring illegitimate property" and "participation in money laundering," and even imposed penalties on some individuals who had financially assisted Mr. Karami. Now, with the news of the acquittal of these benefactors, Mashallah Karami's lawyer has expressed hope that "the Supreme Court will accept the request for retrial and agree to overturn the three-year and seven-month prison sentence and confiscation of assets." Mr. Karami was arrested in August 2023 following a raid by security forces on his home and was transferred to Karaj Central Prison. After spending more than a year in prison, he has now been released from a prison sentence. Mashallah Karami became a symbol for the families seeking justice for the nationwide protests of 2022 due to his continuous sharing of images at his son's grave and that of Mohammad Hosseini, another executed protester in the case of the murder of Ruhollah Ajamian. He also visited the family of Mahsa Amini during last year's Nowruz holidays and a photo was published showing him shaking hands in solidarity with her father, Amjad Amini, at Mahsa Amini's grave. Mr. Karami also prepared and distributed food in memory of the victims of the nationwide protests of 2022. Mohammad Mahdi Karami was one of the nine individuals executed by the Islamic Republic in connection with the protests known as the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement. He was executed in January 2023 in the case known as the "murder of Basij member Ruhollah Ajamian." Other individuals executed include Mohammad Qabadi, Mohsen Shekari, Majid Rehnavard, Mohammad Hosseini, Saleh Mirhashimi, Saeed Yaqoubi, Majid Kazemi, and Milad Zohrevand.