Iranian Protester’s Death Sentence Overturned, Replaced By Imprisonment

An Iranian court has canceled the death sentence handed down to a man accused of damaging public property during protests in Tehran last year, his lawyer says.

The lawyer, Hamed Ahmadi, said that the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Sahand Noor Mohammadzadeh to five years imprisonment for gathering and collusion, one year for disturbing public order and 10 years of exile in Kerman province.

Ahmadi said that he expects his client to spend his years in internal exile in prison since he won’t be allowed to have any contact with anyone in Kerman.

Mohammadzadeh was arrested on October 4, 2022, and sentenced to death two months later on charges of “waging war against God” for allegedly attempting to break the guardrail of a highway and setting fire to a rubbish bin.

The sentence was based on a video in which the defendant could not be seen trying to break a guardrail or setting a fire.

In an audio file sent to IranWire in December, Mohammadzadeh rejected the accusations against him. He also said that, due to pressure exerted on him by his interrogator and the judge, he was forced to admit guilt and sign papers without even reading them.

Iran has been swept by anti-government protests since the September death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, while in police custody.

The security forces have cracked down hard on the women-led protest movement, killing more than 520 people and unlawfully detaining over 20,000, activists say.

Following biased trials, the judiciary has handed down stiff sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters.