New Case Framed Against Sharifeh Mohammadi—Special Interrogation Team Dispatched to Lakan Prison
Hengaw: Sunday, July 21, 2024
The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence has dispatched a special interrogation team, comprising three interrogators and several supervisors, to Lakan Prison in Rasht in an attempt to frame a new case against Sharifeh Mohammadi.
According to the report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, In recent days, three investigators and special observers from the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence were dispatched from Tehran to Lakan Prison in Rasht to fabricate a case against Sharifeh Mohammadi, based on obtaining a forced confession.
According to informed sources, this action was taken in response to widespread domestic and international reactions to the death sentence imposed on Sharifeh Mohammadi, aiming to provide the necessary groundwork to justify the accusations.
This special team is tasked with obtaining a confession from Sharifeh Mohammadi, promising a reduction in punishment and charges, to attach to the case file. The aim is to use this confession in international circles to validate the charge of "rebellion" and justify the death sentence of this political prisoner.
In July 2024, Sharifeh Mohammadi was charged by the First Branch of the Iranian Islamic Revolution Court in Rasht, presided over by Judges Ahmed Darwish Goftar and Mehdi Raskhi. She was accused of rebellion due to her membership in the Coordination Committee for the Formation of Labor Organizations and its alleged affiliation with the Komala Party. Based on Articles 211 and 287 of the Islamic Penal Code of 2014, she was sentenced to death.
Earlier, referring to the received documents, Hengaw wrote: "The aforementioned order was officially and personally communicated to Ms. Sharifeh Mohammadi's lawyer, and the decision can be appealed to the Supreme Court within 20 days after notification."
The documents also state, "The country's intelligence organization is the sole authority designated to identify gang members. All reports from the Intelligence Department of Gilan Province and the Intelligence Department of Kurdistan Province are included in the case file, identifying the accused as a member of the Komala Party and the Coordination Committee." This underscores the lack of independence within the Iranian Judiciary and highlights the significant influence of security institutions over the judicial process.
It is important to note that the hearing for the charges against Sharifeh Mohammadi took place on Saturday, June 8, 2024, in the First Branch of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Court in Rasht.
According to a previous report by Hengaw, Sharifeh Mohammadi, a Gilak woman from Rasht, endured mental and physical torture at the hands of Iranian Intelligence interrogators in Sanandaj, who sought to extract a forced confession from her.
On Tuesday, December 5, 2023, Sharifeh Mohammadi was forcibly arrested at her home in Rasht by Iranian Intelligence forces. Over the past seven months (222 days), she has been held in the central prisons of Sanandaj and Lakan in Rasht, as well as in detention centers operated by the Iranian intelligence service.
