Iranian Activist Sentenced to Death amid Crackdown on Dissent
Isfahan's Islamic Revolutionary Court has sentenced another dissident, Iranian social media activist Mahmoud Mehrabi, to death on the charge of "corruption on earth."
Isfahan's Islamic Revolutionary Court has sentenced another dissident, Iranian social media activist Mahmoud Mehrabi, to death on the charge of "corruption on earth."
Mehrabi’s lawyer, Babak Farsani, said that the charge was issued without detailed justification from Branch 5 of the court.
The charges of "corruption on earth" and "Moharebeh" (waging war against God) represent the most severe criminal offenses under the Islamic Republic's interpretation of Sharia law, both carrying the penalty of death.
The government’s intelligence ministry, which usually takes charge of sentencing dissidents, has historically exploited the vague terms to target and silence them.
Prominent Iranian dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi was sentenced to death by the same court just last month – over his support for nationwide anti-regime protests in 2022.
In a recent statement on X (formerly Twitter), Farsani expressed hope that the country’s Supreme Court of Iran would consider the grave concerns raised in their appeal against the verdict.
In a video posted online, Mehrabi's sister said she was verbally informed by authorities of the execution order, and is urging the international community and the public to advocate for her brother and all political prisoners in Iran.
Despite limited information on Mehrabi's specific activities, it is known that he faced allegations of "spreading falsehoods on Instagram," "anti-regime propaganda," "incitement of military and law enforcement to abandon their duties," "promoting conflict and violence," and "insulting the Supreme Leader," as reported by the Telegram channel Human Rights Advocates.
Mehrabi first became entangled in the country’s legal system, which is not independent, when he was arrested in February 2023 and subsequently transferred to Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan.
He was briefly released on bail in April 2023 but was rearrested hours later at his parental home in Mobarakeh, after an operation by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard's (IRGC) intelligence agents.
This sentence comes amid an escalating use of the death penalty in Iran, following the unprecedented nationwide protests in 2022.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), executions have more than doubled in the past two years, with 767 individuals executed in the year ending March 2024, highlighting an intensified crackdown on dissent within the country.
In an interview with reformist Jamaran News, Saeed Moidfar, the former Tehran University academic, underscored the Islamic Republic's repeated failures in imposing its desired lifestyle and compulsory hijab, which the people have fiercely resisted.
“Homogenizing is a project pursued by ideological states. They try to see everyone as similar; there is no longer any diversity in culture, values, norms, or lifestyles,” Moidfar explained. “The project has, of course, failed worldwide despite using force.”
Even with setbacks, the regime seems to persist in its attempts to revert the situation to pre-2022 protests, a move that the sociologist suggests is bound to fail as “norms or rules can be accepted if people agree with them.”
Following the wave of protests known as the Woman Life Freedom movement, during which at least 550 protesters were murdered by security forces, including dozens of children, the government took the morality police out of the streets.
Even in religious cities, many women now only partially cover their hair, wear heavy makeup and tight-fitting clothing, or even drop their headscarves altogether.
On April 13, however, the police launched a new crackdown against women called the Nour Initiative. Now, women rebelling against the hijab are the subject of morality police violence again.
Moidfar said that over the last three or four years, some parts of the state have not been concerned about the social consequences of their policies, actions, and plans. Hinting that they may be trying to maintain popularity among a minority that supports them, he said, “The reality is that a large part of society is going their separate way.”
It is possible to divide the minority Moeidfar divides into roughly into three categories: non-confrontational individuals, ordinary religious people, and hardliners.
Since President Ebrahim Raisi's administration took office 32 months ago, the situation has worsened for the ruling class. The president is now a hardliner, so Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who essentially selected him, cannot attribute the deep economic problems to him, which was his strategy during ‘moderate’ Hassan Rouhani’s tenure.
Iran's economic situation has deteriorated, and inflation is officially at more than 52%, with food prices rising higher than ever.
Consequently, a section of society that avoided confrontation but whose red line was financial concerns does not appear to be content any longer.
In particular, they are concerned that nothing appears to be done to improve the economy. Khamenei’s strategy of looking to the East rather than the West has proven problematic. China is eager to buy discounted Iranian oil but wary of political ties, while Russia is tied to Putin's costly invasion of Ukraine. Instead of seeing an economic boost from ties to Russia, Iran is bound to another heavily sanctioned system.
The regime has desperately tried to overestimate the number of ordinary religious people to maintain its power, and its attempt to implement its ideology through force has even disappointed them.
During the latest wave of repression, more women from the "reformist" camp and religious backgrounds have joined Iranian protesters in demanding freedom of choice. A prominent Islamic scholar, Sedigheh Vasmaghi, 63, has stripped off her veil and publicly criticized Khamenei as a dictator and condemned the compulsory hijab law.
Another example is Mostafa Tajzadeh, who, in a letter from prison on Thursday, pointed to Khameni's responsibility for the recent crackdown on women, saying he has no clear strategy for addressing rampant inflation and has resorted to oppressive measures to silence public debate.
"Inflation, corruption, and oppression are turning Iran and its cities into a ticking time bomb," Tajzadeh wrote.