Social Media Admin Facing Execution in Iran for Online Posts
Same Judge Sentenced Rapper Toomaj Salehi to Death Few Weeks Earlier
Death Sentence for Social Media Posts Shows Intensifying Repression in Iran
May 13, 2024 – The death sentence issued against Mahmoud Mehrabi, a social media page administrator, should be immediately rescinded as his only so-called “crime” was posting content online, said the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).
The case is yet another example of Islamic Republic judicial officials increasingly using the death penalty as a tool of repression, in this case, to silence a social media admin who was focused on local issues.
Just a few weeks prior, the same judge who sentenced Mahmoud Mehrabi to death sentenced dissident rapper in Iran Toomaj Salehi to death for his music.
A medical examiner has confirmed that Mehrabi, a 35-year-old electrician, suffers from serious gastrointestinal health issues, a source with detailed knowledge of the case told CHRI. The death sentence should be immediately dropped, and Mehrabi should be released on medical grounds.
On May 7, 2024, Mizan, the Iranian judiciary’s official news agency, stated that according to “investigations” that the state carried out during the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising, Mehrabi posted content on the internet, “including training material on the use of homemade weapons and calling for the destruction of public property.” Mizan claimed he also “incited people to wage war and kill as well as insult sacred values.”
“Mizan’s claims are an acknowledgment of the fact that the only reason Mehrabi has been charged with ‘corruption on earth’ and sentenced to death is his internet posts,” the source with knowledge of the case told CHRI. “He has not actually committed any crime, certainly nothing to justify such a draconian punishment.”
Mehrabi and three unnamed individuals were arrested on the orders of the prosecutor in the city of Mobarakeh, Isfahan province, for their posts on Instagram and Telegram on February 1, 2023, according to information obtained by CHRI.
At first, they were all accused of “propaganda against the state” and “publishing falsehoods,” while being held in Ward A-T for security prisoners in Dastgerd Prison in the city of Isfahan until February 24, 2023. All but Mehrabi were released a few weeks later.
During the initial interrogations, Mehrabi confirmed that he was the admin of the Kasif (Dirty) News 2 Instagram page and was forced to give the password to the page, enabling his interrogators to read all his private chats since 2015, which were then included in four volumes in the indictment.
The page was taken over by local authorities when he was initially detained and is no longer available online.
On March 16, 2023, Mehrabi was released on bail. However, hours later he was rearrested, charged with “corruption on earth” by Branch 1 of the City Magistrate in Mobarakeh, and returned to Dastgerd Prison’s Ward A-T, where he remained until May 21, 2023.
Mehrabi was then moved to the prison’s public ward and allowed to meet with his lawyers. Until that time, the lawyers were not aware that he was charged with “corruption on earth.”
Mehrabi’s lawyers are now currently handling two cases against him, all based on his Instagram page, “Kasif (Dirty) News 2,” which focused on influential people in Mobarakeh, mainly discussing local municipal and city council issues, in many cases based on information sent by locals to Mehrabi.
The charges in the first case are security-related: “corruption on earth,” “encouraging people to commit violence and killing,” “unsuccessful incitement of the military forces to rebel and abandon their posts,” “propaganda against the state,” and “insulting” Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The second case was recently referred to Branch 1 of the Criminal Court in the city of Isfahan but preliminary preparations have not been carried out. This case involves the charge of “insulting” the Prophet Mohammad and Islam, which could also carry the death penalty, as well as private complaints from individuals who Mehrabi allegedly discussed on his page.
On April 20, 2024, the first case went to trial regarding the charge of “corruption on earth,” resulting in the death sentence being issued to Mehrabi in person on May 5, 2024 at Branch 5 of Islamic Revolutionary Court in Isfahan is presided by Judge Vahid Hemmatnejad, who signed the death sentence along with Judge Mohammadreza Tavakoli of Branch 1 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Isfahan (who signed as an adviser). Hemmatnejad is the same judge who sentenced dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi to death last month.
