10 June 2024 :
June 8, 2024 - IRAN. Death sentence of Seyed Mohammad-Javad Vafaie overturned
Political prisoner
In a recent ruling, the Supreme Court of Iran has for the second time overturned the death sentence of Seyed Mohammad-Javad Vafaie, a 28-year-old boxing coach turned political prisoner. His case has now been reassigned to another branch for a new trial.
Babak Paknia, the attorney for Vafaie, confirmed the development to the public.
Vafaie was initially arrested by security forces in Mashhad in March 2020 and has since been detained in Vakilabad Prison.
He was originally sentenced to death in January 2022 on charges of “spreading corruption on earth” by committing arson and deliberately destroying public property, including a penitentiary facility. Despite the Supreme Court overturning this initial verdict, Branch 2 of the Mashhad Revolutionary Court reimposed the death sentence in July 2023, necessitating another Supreme Court review which resulted in the recent overturn. (On his case see also Hands off Cain January 9, 2022, January 10, 2022, July 19, 2023, and February 12, 2024.)
