UN Criticism of Death Sentence for Mohammad Ali Taheri

Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, strongly criticized the death sentence issued for Mohammad Ali Taheri, the founder of 'Erfan Halqeh', in a statement on Wednesday, August 14. According to the Associated Press, the High Commissioner stated that Mr. Taheri was sentenced to death on Sunday for the charge of 'corruption on earth through misguiding individuals'. He urged Iranian authorities to annul the charges against Mr. Taheri and release him unconditionally. Mr. Taheri has been in detention since May 2011. In a letter to the UN Special Rapporteur last July, he claimed that interrogators had coerced him into making false confessions through 'psychological pressure and torture'. The Iranian judiciary's news agency confirmed the issuance of the death sentence for Mr. Taheri late last week, stating that the sentence had been communicated to his lawyer. According to this news agency, Mohammad Ali Taheri was arrested on May 3, 2011, and was sentenced by the Revolutionary Court to five years in prison, a fine of 900 million tomans, and 74 lashes for charges including 'insulting sacred beliefs, illegal interference in medical affairs, committing forbidden acts and illicit relationships, unauthorized use of scientific titles such as doctor and engineer, and the misleading nature of his books and works'. 'Corruption on earth through misguiding individuals' was another charge against Mohammad Ali Taheri, which the judiciary's news agency reported as having deficiencies in the investigations, leading the case to be sent back to the prosecutor's office for further investigation. Ultimately, after addressing the deficiencies, the case was sent back to the court, which scheduled a hearing for March 6, 2015, but the trial was postponed at the defendant's request until early May of this year when the court addressed this part of Taheri's case. Previously, on June 30, an 'informed source' had denied the issuance of the death sentence for the founder of 'Erfan Halqeh'. Supporters of Mohammad Ali Taheri have held several protests in recent years, with many of them also being arrested and imprisoned. In a letter to Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, in July 2014, Mr. Taheri stated that 'interrogators and investigators' had forced him into 'false confessions' through 'psychological pressure and torture'. He also mentioned that due to the torture he endured during his detention, he attempted suicide four times and went on hunger strikes twice.