Mohammad Javad Vafaei-Sani sentenced to death for the third time

Mohammad Javad Vafaei-Sani, a political protester imprisoned in prison, was sentenced to death for the third time.

Mohammad Javad Vafaei, born in 1995, a boxing champion in Mashhad schools, was arrested in Mashhad following the nationwide protests of 2019. The charges against him include “participating in the November 2019 protests and protesting the downing of a Ukrainian plane” and “propaganda against the regime.”

In addition to the aforementioned charges, he was also accused of "corruption on earth" through "arson and destruction of certain places, including the government prison building," which Mohammad Wafaei has denied.

After a court hearing, Mohammad Javad Vafaei was sentenced to death. Activists and human rights organizations had reported the torture of the protester during his detention and had protested against his death sentence. Eventually, his death sentence was overturned by the Supreme Court, once in December 1401 and again in June 1402.

Now, "Babak Paknia", the lawyer of political prisoner Mohammad Vafaei, has published a text regarding the re-issuance of his death sentence and wrote: "In the case of Mohammad Javad Vafaei, the second, despite the reversal of the verdict in the Supreme Court, with the opinion of the majority of the examining judges (advisors of the Third Branch of the Mashhad Revolutionary Court), while opposing the reasoning of the Supreme Court judges, a death sentence has been issued for the third time on the charge of corruption on earth. This verdict is subject to appeal."

This is the third time that the Ninth Branch of the Supreme Court has issued a death sentence, even though it had previously opposed his death sentence for the second time and referred his case to the same branch for retrial.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran also issued a statement in response to the re-issuance of Mr. Vafaei's death sentence, writing: "This political prisoner is a supporter of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran. The courts of the Islamic Republic are "unjust" and their sentences are also cruel."

The National Council of Resistance of Iran called on the High Commissioner and the Human Rights Council, the UN Rapporteur, the International Fact-Finding Committee, and the European Union and its member states to take immediate action regarding the "release of political prisoners and the rescue of Mohammad Javad Vafaei-Sani, as well as Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani, other political prisoners facing execution."