Iran’s Supreme Court orders retrial for protester sentenced to death

By AFP 21 December 2022, 2:24 pm

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In this frame grab from video taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran shows people block an intersection during a protest to mark 40 days since the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, whose tragedy sparked Iran's biggest anti-government movement in over a decade, in Tehran, Iran, October 26, 2022. (AP Photo)

Iran’s Supreme Court has ordered a retrial for a young Iranian sentenced to death for his part in protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, says the judiciary.

Mahan Sadrat is one of nearly a dozen Iranians sentenced to death after being convicted of capital offenses during the protests that erupted following Amini’s death in custody on September 16.

“The accused’s request for a retrial was found to be in accordance with the law… and so the case was referred to the court for retrial,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online news website reports.

Sadrat, who is in his early 20s, had been found guilty of “moharebeh” — or “enmity against God” — an Islamic Sharia law offense that can carry the death penalty in Iran. His conviction was based on allegations he had drawn a knife, causing fear and insecurity, state news agency IRNA said earlier this month.