Lawyer Urges Release of Jailed Father Amid Family's Mental Health Concerns

The wife of Mashallah Karami, imprisoned father of Mohammad Mehdi, a young protester executed in 2023, is suffering from significant mental and emotional distress, a lawyer said.

According to Ali Ardakani, Karami's representatives have requested Alborz province's judicial officials to release their client on bail.

Ardakani, along with his colleague Shahla Owji, said in an interview with the Emtedad news website that they have taken on the representation of Kerami, who has been detained since August 2023.

Before the execution of his son, he tirelessly advocated for justice, highlighting the numerous inconsistencies surrounding his son's case and sharing their poignant conversations during phone calls from prison: "Dad, the verdict has been rendered. They've sentenced me to death. Keep this information from mum."

Despite his efforts, the support of legal experts, human rights champions, and journalists yielded no positive outcome.

Confirming a recent visit to his client in prison, Ardakani described Karami's overall condition as good but emphasized the profound sorrow resulting from separation from family.

Expressing heightened concern for the mental and psychological state of Karmi's wife, Ardakani said, "Unfortunately, she is not in a good mental or psychological state. She has lost her son, and her husband is imprisoned."

Ardakani disclosed that Karami faces four charges, with two to be tried in the Karaj Revolutionary Court and the remaining two in the Nazarabad Criminal Court, both near the capital Tehran.

The charges before the Revolutionary Court include "propaganda against the Islamic Republic" and "collusion with the intention of committing crimes against national security."

Other accusations leveled against Karmi include the "unlawful acquisition of property and money laundering."

Ardakani highlighted Karami's "complete lack of access to study the case" and urged the judicial officials of Alborz province to consider the mental condition of his client's wife.

Mashallah Karami was arrested in August last year, by Ministry of Intelligence agents at his home in Karaj and taken to the Intelligence Department detention center.

Reports suggest that government forces destroyed memorabilia, plaques, and medals commemorating the acts of their son, and even set fire to his clothes during a raid.

Mohammad Mahdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini were hanged on January 7, 2023, Iran's judicial said, after they were found guilty of killing a member of the paramilitary Basij force during anti-establishment protests.