Amnesty International Urges Iran To Reverse Dr Taheri’s Death Sentence

Is he alive or is he dead? We ran a story a couple of days ago headlined Iran To Execute Dr Taheri Who It Tortured To Death In January? While some of his supporters believe Mohammad Ali Taheri is dead, his lawyer and his family members deny the ‘rumors’ while the UN, the US, and Amnesty International call for quashing of his death sentence.

Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai, Mohammad Ali Taheri’s lawyer, has told the BBC that he recently met the Iranian spiritual leader and practitioner of alternative medicine theories of Faradarmani and Psymentology, and that the ‘prisoner of conscience’ was in good mood and hopes that the country’s Supreme Court quashes the verdict by the Revolutionary Court on August 1 that sentenced him to death for “spreading corruption on earth” through his spiritual beliefs and teachings. Taheri has until August 20 to appeal, which his lawyer said he intends to.

Calling on Iran to drop the charges and free Taheri forthwith, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein, said, “Taheri’s multiple convictions on a variety of vague charges, his alleged detention in solitary confinement and now his sentencing to death bring into stark focus serious issues with the administration of justice and the terribly worrying use of the death penalty in Iran. For an individual to be sentenced to death for peaceful exercise of freedom of expression, religion or belief is an absolute outrage – and a clear violation of international human rights law.”

Calling on the Iranian Government to rescind Taheri’s death sentence and accord him full due process and to uphold freedom of expression and belief for its citizens, the US Department of State said in a statement, “We are deeply concerned by reports that a Revolutionary Court in Iran has sentenced to death Mohammad Ali Taheri, the Iranian founder of a spiritual movement, on the charge of “corruption on earth”. We also are disturbed that a number of the movement’s followers reportedly have been sentenced to prison terms for similarly vague so-called crimes. It is our understanding that Taheri, who has been held in Evin Prison in solitary confinement since his October 2011 conviction on charges of “insulting Islamic sanctities”, received this sentence in response to his peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of religion and freedom of expression. To sentence a citizen to death for exercising these freedoms represents an extreme violation of his rights.”

Amnesty International is concerned that the death sentence for the charge of spreading corruption on earth has come as a result of pressure from the Revolutionary Guards, which raises alarms about the judiciary’s independence and impartiality in Iran. It is asking supporters to take urgent action and send mails to concerned authorities “calling on them to quash the death sentence and release Taheri immediately and unconditionally, and to ensure that pending his release, Mohammad Ali Taheri is not held in solitary confinement, as prolonged solitary confinement violates the absolute prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment.”

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