Iran: The Death Sentence of Sharifeh Mohammadi, Turkish Labor Activist, Overturned by the Supreme Court

Hengaw; Sunday, October 13, 2024

The death sentence of Sharifeh Mohammadi, a Turkish labor activist, and political prisoner held in Lakan Prison in Rasht, was overturned by the Supreme Court and referred to another branch for reconsideration. She had previously been sentenced to death on charges of rebellion (baghi).

According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Amir Raeisian, in an interview with "Sharq Network," stated: "After reviewing the case, the Supreme Court overturned my client Ms. Sharifeh Mohammadi's sentence and referred the case to an equivalent branch for reconsideration."

Sharifeh Mohammadi, a labor activist residing in Rasht, was sentenced to death in July of this year by Branch 1 of the Rasht Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judges Ahmad Darvish Goftar and Mehdi Raskhi, on charges of rebellion through membership in the Coordination Committee for the Formation of Labor Organizations and "the affiliation of this organization to the Komala Party." This verdict was based on Articles 211 and 287 of the Islamic Penal Code, passed in 2013.

Earlier, Hengaw reported, based on a ruling document in its possession, that "the national intelligence organization is the only authority as an expert to identify members of groups, and all reports from the Gilan and Kurdistan provincial intelligence offices were attached to the case, identifying the defendant as a member of the Komala Party and the Coordination Committee." This reveals the lack of independence in the Iranian judiciary and is clear evidence of the security agencies' interference in the judicial system.

It is worth noting that the hearing for Sharifeh Mohammadi's charges was held on Saturday, June 8, 2024, in Branch 1 of the Rasht Revolutionary Court.

This labor activist had previously been subjected to psychological and physical pressure by interrogators from the Sanandaj Intelligence Office to obtain a forced confession.

Sharifeh Mohammadi was violently arrested by intelligence forces at her home in Rasht on Tuesday, December 5, 2023, and has spent the past 10 months in detention in the central prisons of Sanandaj and Lakan in Rasht, as well as in the intelligence detention centers in these two cities.