Court Accepts Convict’s Appeal Against Death Sentence
TEHRAN -- Iran’s supreme court accepts a 25-year-old man’s appeal against the death sentence after he was found guilty of acting against national security and disrupting public order in the wake of the recent unrest and deadly riots in Iran, sending his case back for review.
In a statement on Saturday, the top tribunal said it accepted Sahand Noor Mohammadzadeh, one of the accused in the recent protests and deadly riots. His case has been sent to the same branch of the revolutionary court for review.
The 25-year-old was detained in early October and given a death sentence two months later on the charge of “waging war against God” for trying to close off a highway in Tehran by breaking a guardrail and setting fire to tires and a recycle bin during riots.
According to a verdict issued against him, his actions amount to “confrontation with
the Islamic government, gathering,
and collusion with the aim of committing crimes against national security and disrupting public order and peace.”
Earlier, Iran dropped a death sentence handed down to a doctor, Hamid Qareh Hassanlou, who was arrested over his role in the protests and violent riots.
Iranian authorities blame hostile countries and their agents for the turmoil in the country, which started in mid-September following the death of an Iranian woman in police custody.