The Iranian regime’s judiciary has sentenced political prisoner Mohammad Javad Vafa’i Sani to death on charges of “supporting the MEK”, “spreading corruption on earth”, and “burning and destroying regime facilities”, after enduring two years of imprisonment and torture the verdict was delivered to his lawyer.
Mohammad Javad Vafaei is a 26-year-old boxing champion from the city of Mashhad. He was arrested in this city in March 2020. The regime’s judiciary set a bail of 300 billion rials (approximately $600,000) for his temporary release, which his family could not afford.
The Iranian regime is trying to prevent the spread of social protests by increasing executions and repression. This sentence is part of the regime’s continued pressure on political prisoners and its efforts to further suppress society to prevent the possibility of future fiery protests.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) called on the UN Secretary-General, the UN Human Rights Council and Commissioner, all human rights defenders, as well as the European Union and its member states, to take urgent action to save the life of this political prisoner.
In a letter released on July 20, dozens of human rights activists, prominent lawyers, and former prosecutors asked the UN Human Rights Chief to intervene to prevent the execution of this prisoner.
96 international NGOs, current and former United Nations officials, human rights and legal experts including Judge Sang-Hyun Song, President of the International Criminal Court (ICC) (2009-2015), and Nobel laureates that sent an urgent letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, requesting his urgent intervention to prevent the imminent execution of Mohammad Javad Vafa’i Thani.
The spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said, “We have received information about this case and are in the process of following up and gathering further information.”
The full text of the letter follows:
Dear High Commissioner,
We request your urgent public intervention to save the life of Iranian political prisoner Mohammad Javad Vafa’i Thani.
According to information received from Vakil-Abad Prison in the city of Mashhad, earlier this morning a prison judge went to the political prisoners’ ward, where he informed Vafa’i Thani that his execution verdict had been finalised.
Vafa’i Thani was then summoned and taken by a prison guard to an unknown location. There is no further information about his current whereabouts.
Vafa’i Thani, 27, is a local boxing champion in Mashhad and a supporter of the main opposition group People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI or MEK).
He was arrested in March 2020 (Persian calendar month of Esfand 1398) for taking part in the November 2019 anti-government protests. He was tortured for several months and eventually handed down an execution sentence for “efsad-fil-arz” (“corruption on Earth”) by Branch Four of the Mashhad Revolutionary Court.
In recent months, the Iranian authorities have executed at least seven other protesters on similar bogus charges with total impunity. These political executions are a callous attempt by the authorities to frighten and silence an increasingly restive population no longer willing to accept their corrupt and oppressive rule.
We ask that you make an urgent public call for the Iranian authorities to halt Vafa’i Thani’s imminent execution sentence.
Sincerely,
