Mashallah Karami, Father of Executed Kurdish Protestor, Sentenced to Over Eight Years in Prison and Asset Seizure in A New Case

Hengaw: Sunday, August 18, 2024

Mashallah Karami, the father of Mohammad Mehdi (Komar) Karami, one of the executed victims of the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement, has been sentenced by the Iranian judiciary to eight years and ten months of imprisonment, asset seizure, and a monetary fine in a new case. He had previously been sentenced to five years of imprisonment.

According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Mashallah Karami, father of executed protestor, has been sentenced by Branch 102 of the Nazarabad Criminal Court to eight years and ten months of imprisonment, a fine of 1 billion and 900 million tomans, and the seizure of his assets on charges of "money laundering and acquiring illicit property."

Additionally, according to informed sources, this grieving father has recently been subjected to a court order from the Islamic Revolutionary Court for the seizure of his assets, including a house in Takab and a Dena vehicle.

It is noteworthy that Mashallah Karami had previously been sentenced by the Karaj Iranian Revolutionary Court to five years of imprisonment on charges of "assembly and collusion" and one year of imprisonment on charges of "acting against the government."

Ali Sharifzadeh Ardakani, his lawyer, commented on the asset seizure, stating: "The aforementioned articles refer to the acquisition of assets through the commission of a crime or the use of assets in the commission of a crime, whereas these assets have no role in the charges of assembly, collusion, or propaganda against the government."

He added, "These assets were purchased through public donations, or as a gift. The people, wishing to help Mr. Karami, who worked as a laborer, generously donated these assets to him with good intentions."

On August 22, 2023, Mashallah Karami was arrested by security forces after his house was searched, his mobile phone and some other personal belongings were confiscated, and he was eventually transferred to the Karaj Central Prison.

Mohammad Mehdi Karami (Komar), a 21-year-old Kurdish youth from Bijar, along with Mohammad Hosseini, another principal defendant in the case known as the "murder" of Ruhollah Ajamian, a Basij member, was sentenced to death. After severe torture, their death sentences were both carried out at dawn on January 7, 2023. These two young men were arrested during the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.