Iran: Supreme Court Upholds Facebook User's Death Sentence for Blasphemy

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Prosecutors rejected Arabi’s claims that many of the posts in question were written by his contacts and merely appeared on his wall because he had commented on them.

Tehran Palace of Justice (Google images)

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Global Voices Advocacy
By Netizen Report / Excerpt | December 3, 2014
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[O]n Nov. 24 the Supreme Court [of Iran] upheld a ruling sentencing Facebook user Soheil Arabi to death by hanging. Arabi was tried over a series of posts on his Facebook page deemed insulting to the Prophet Muhammad.

The 30-year-old husband and father was arrested in November 2013, along with his wife. While she was soon released, Arabi has since remained behind bars, where he has endured numerous interrogations, psychological pressure, and long periods of solitary confinement. According to his wife, he was allowed access to a lawyer only immediately prior to his trial. Prosecutors rejected Arabi’s claims that many of the posts in question were written by his contacts and merely appeared on his wall because he had commented on them.

Leading international human rights organizations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are urging authorities not to execute Arabi and to reevaluate the laws under which he was sentenced.

Despite media reports suggesting a new, more moderate approach to governance in the country under President Hassan Rouhani, this and other recent events indicate that security and intelligence agents in Iran are taking increasingly repressive measures against dissent and political expression online.


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