Death sentence of Sunni cleric Mohammad Khadrnejad confirmed
The Supreme Court upheld the death sentence of Sunni cleric Mohammad Khadrnejad.
Mohammad Khezrnejad, a Sunni Kurdish cleric who had posted on his Telegram channel about the protests and commemorating the victims during the nationwide protests of 1401, was arrested by security forces at his private home in Bukan. After breaking down the door of his home, the security forces resorted to violence and beatings against him and his family.
According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, the death sentence of Mamosta Mohammad Khazrenejad was confirmed by Branch 41 of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Iran. According to reports from Kurdistan Human Rights, in December 1402, after 14 months in prison, he was sentenced to death and 16 years in prison by the Urmia Revolutionary Court, Branch 3, headed by Judge Reza Najafzadeh, on charges of "corruption on earth", "undermining the integrity or independence of the country", and "propaganda against the system".
The verdict was issued despite the fact that his trial was held in four short sessions, via video conference and without the right to a lawyer, and Judge Najafzadeh issued the verdict without hearing his defense and based solely on the report of the Ministry of Intelligence.
It should be noted that after his arrest, Mohammad Khadrnejad was held in solitary confinement at the Urmia Ministry of Intelligence detention center for 108 days and was severely tortured physically and mentally in order to extract forced confessions. The video recording of these confessions has been recorded as evidence against him by the Ministry of Intelligence.
Amnesty International issued a statement warning against the death sentences issued to 15 convicts, including Mohammad Khadrnejad.
The pressure, arrest, and torture of Sunni clerics by regime forces has intensified since the protests began, with many of them being arrested in Kurdistan and Zahedan and in many cases beaten and tortured. Many Sunni clerics wrote a letter to the head of the judiciary, Mohseni Ejei, in this regard, emphasizing that no justice was observed in the judicial process of Mohammad Khazrenejad and demanding his release.
