Mashallah Karami, the father of executed protester Mohammad Mehdi Karami, continues to be held in Karaj Central Prison under unspecified conditions, despite more than six months passing since his arrest, according to human rights sources.
According to HRANA news agency, a source familiar with the matter stated, “Mr. Karami, despite 196 days of detention, is still being held incommunicado in Ward 15 of Karaj Central Detention Center.”
The source, close to Mr. Karami’s family, mentioned that efforts for his “temporary release” have been unsuccessful so far.
Mashallah Karimi is the father of Mohammad Mehdi Karimi, an athlete and protester who was executed by the Iranian regime. Mohammad Mehdi Karimi was detained during nationwide protests that began in September 2022, following his participation in the 40th-day memorial ceremony for Hadis Najafi and Parsa Razadoust, two young protesters murdered by the regime’s security forces.
On January 7, 2023, he was executed alongside Mohammad Hosseini, another protester, in a case referred to as the “Murder of an IRGC Basij Member Ruhollah Ajamian.” The trials of the two protesters was marked with torture, forced confessions, and a flawed judicial process.
Mashallah Karimi was arrested by the regime’s security forces on August 22, 2023. Security officials confiscated all electronic devices and also froze his family’s bank accounts.
Throughout his detention amid last year’s nationwide protests, Karami’s family has been subjected to harassment by Iranian regime security forces. On November 3, more than 70 days into Mashaallah Karami’s detention, his wife and child were forced to leave their home due to “repeated assaults” by security forces.
On December 20, 2023, Mashallah Karami was charged by Branch Eleven of Karaj Public and Revolutionary Court with allegations such as “membership in groups and gatherings with the intent to act against national security, propaganda against the regime, insulting sanctities, forming a group with the intent to disrupt national security, and insulting the leader (the regime’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei).”
In this situation, hra-news agency, has revealed that since Mashaallah Karami’s detention, his family has been pressured not to provide information about him. They have also faced restrictions on phone calls and daily movements.
There are indications of severe pressure on Mashallah Karami to accept charges of “fraud and manipulation of public sentiment,” and there is a possibility that a coerced confession video may be broadcast in the future.
