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An Iranian mother of two has been sentenced to death by hanging for simply filming a retail store on fire during January’s anti-regime protests, according to a new report.
Leila Abolhasani, 43, one of an estimated 50,000 people arrested during protests in Iran at the beginning of the year, was sentenced to death on the charge of “Moharebeh” — which translates to “enmity against God,” IranWire reported.
Abolhasani, a mother of two teenagers, was arrested in the Iranian satellite city of Shahin Shahr on Jan. 8 after she took photos of a fire at an Ofogh Koorosh grocery store, a source told IranWire.
The country’s Judiciary — the authoritarian legal system based on Sharia Islamic law which is under the control of the Supreme Leader — accused Abolhasani of being involved in the store’s arson, a charge that carries a death sentence, according to the publication’s source.
But Abolhasani’s family disputed the accusation that she was involved in igniting the blaze, insiting she just just filmed the fire, NewsNation reported.
Details regarding the court’s evidence linking her to the blaze, conduct of the trial and her legal defense have not been made public.
Abolhasani has been held at the Dowlatabad Prison in the city of Isfahan since her arrest.
In late May, Abolhasani was sentenced to death by Vahid Hemmatnejad, the presiding judge of Branch 5 of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court.
She was ordered to be executed by hanging.
The mother appealed the verdict and her case was moved to the Supreme Court for review, according to IranWire.
The Supreme Court is reportedly examining Abolhasani’s appeal.
An Iranian refugee who spoke to NewsNation said the planned execution of Abolhasani acts as another warning by the regime to citizens that if they oppose their leadership, they could be killed.
“She (Abolhasani) was arrested for documenting what was happening and was sentenced to death,” the refugee told the outlet.
“Her work could have been very effective in showing the world how brutal and savage the regime is, and they do not want the world to see the truth,” the refugee added.
“That is why they are trying to execute her. They want her case to serve as a lesson to anyone who tries to speak the truth about the regime.”
The refugee asserted that the regime wants to “create fear among the people so that anyone who might consider revealing the truth will be too afraid to do so.”
“They want people to remain silent and to keep the truth hidden forever.”
During the January protests, around 50,000 people, including 250 children, were killed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a source told NewsNation.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency estimates some 50,000 people were arrested during the demonstrations.
Earlier this month, United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk said that Iran had executed at least 56 people on national security-related charges since March 19, which included 27 cases linked to the protests in January.
The human rights chief said that executions and death sentences had increased since March and more than 100 other people are facing similar charges which could result in being sentenced to death.
“The death penalty is incompatible with the right to life and irreconcilable with human dignity,” Türk said. “Such punishment has no place in our world.”
English (US)