Facebook User Will Not Be Executed, Lawyer Says

The death sentence against Facebook user Soheil Arabi for allegedly insulting the Prophet has been annulled, his lawyer told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

“On June 27, I heard the death sentence against my client has been nullified,” said Amir Salar Davoodi. “Now we have to wait for a parallel court to review Mr. Arabi’s case.”

The maximum punishment for insulting the Prophet is death. The minimum is 74 lashes.

“Fortunately with our efforts and the courageousness of the judge, the death sentence was nullified,” Davoodi added.

Arabi, 32, was arrested in November 2013, and was sentenced to death for “insulting the Prophet” (sabb-al-nabi) by Branch 76 of the Tehran Penal Court for his posts on Facebook.

He is currently serving a three-year sentence in Evin Prison for “insulting the Supreme Leader” and “waging propaganda against the state.”

A source told the Campaign that Arabi managed eight different pages on Facebook, where some of his controversial posts appeared. He has admitted in court that he was “not in a suitable state of mind” when he wrote some of his posts.