Iran's Supreme Court has overturned a death sentence for a man arrested during the deadly crackdowns on nationwide fuel price protests in 2019 and ordered a retrial, his lawyer said.
Fereshteh Tabanian, the lawyer, said on X that the court accepted a retrial request for Abbas Daris. The case will now be sent to a court of equal standing for reconsideration.
"Tonight, Abbas Daris's children cried tears of joy," Tabanian wrote.
Security forces arrested Daris and his brother Mohsen during a violent crackdown on protests in Mahshahr in November 2019.
Authorities charged Abbas Daris with “waging war against God, disturbing public order and participating in the murder” of Reza Sayadi, a member of Iran's special police force.
A Revolutionary Court in Mahshahr sentenced Daris to death in November 2022, and the Supreme Court initially upheld the ruling.
Tabanian filed for a retrial in July 2023, and the court issued a stay of execution.
With Wednesday's decision, the death sentence has been officially suspended pending the new trial.
In earlier proceedings, Daris was acquitted of premeditated murder after the victim's family granted forgiveness.
He received a 14-year prison sentence, with 10 years executable, for weapons possession.
A court acquitted his brother Mohsen of aiding in the murder but sentenced him to two years for possessing a weapon.
Mahshahr was among the hardest-hit cities during the November 2019 protests, which erupted over a fuel price hike.
Security forces opened fire on demonstrators, with dozens shot in marshlands surrounding the city.
Civil society activists consider Daris one of the few surviving witnesses to the killings in the Mahshahr marshlands.
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