Dr Mehrshad Kalini, a pediatrician based in the Lordegan city of Chaharmahal-o-Bakhtiari province, has been arrested by security forces for protesting against death sentences handed to political prisoners.
According to media reports, Dr Kalini had raised a placard in front of the mayor's office in Lordegan to protest the death sentences handed to Mahmoud Mehrabi and Khosrow Besharat.
He was arrested on Tuesday, May 7, and was taken to an unknown location.
"No to the execution of Mahmoud Mehrabi and Khosrow Besharat," said the placard Dr Kalini was carrying.
Mahmoud Mehrabi, a protester, was arrested during the 2022 nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police. The political prisoner was sentenced to death by the Isfahan Revolutionary Court on charges that include "corruption on earth" – a charge often used against dissidents and can result in the death penalty.
Mehrabi was accused of posting controversial material on social media platforms. The material, according to the judiciary-affiliated Mizan News agency, ranged from "instructions on how to use handmade weapons, calls to destroy public property" to "inciting people to riot and carnage and insulting the sacred."
In a video posted earlier, Mahmoud Mehrabi's sister, Maryam Mehrabi, said that her brother was sentenced to death just for being a cyberspace activist, even though no one was hurt in reality due to his actions.
She said that her brother had supported the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement and was given the death penalty because the judge had not observed any sign of remorse on his face.
Khosro Besharat, a Kurdish political prisoner, was arrested in February 2008 and sentenced to death alongside seven others, five of whom have already been executed.
He was accused of national security offenses, including "propaganda against the Islamic Republic" and "membership in an outlawed group."
Besharat was initially sentenced to death in 2015, but the verdict was overturned. However, in a retrial in 2017, he was again sentenced to death on the charge of "corruption on Earth."
In 2019, Besharat also received a separate ten-year sentence for alleged involvement in a murder.
As of now, the Islamic Republic has executed at least nine people who were arrested in the course of the 2022 protests.
These include Mohsen Shekari, Majid Reza Rahnavard, Mohammad Mahdi Karami, Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi, Saeed Yaqoubi, Milad Zohrehvand, and Mohammad Ghobadlou. Several other protesters are currently on the death row.
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