Iranian Death Row Prisoner’s Children Plead For Help

The children of Abbas Deris, a death row prisoner, demanded his release and global action to prevent the execution of their father.

Deris, 49, and his 29-year-old brother Mohsen, were arrested during the Mahshahr canebrake crackdown in 2019; one of the bloodiest suppressions in the Islamic Republic, ignited by the sudden sharp increase in fuel prices in the country. It soon turned into an anti-government movement.

The brothers' initial charges included moharebeh (enmity against God), disrupting public order, and murdering a special unit officer. In October 2022, Mohsen was sentenced to death for the moharebeh charges, while his brother was acquitted.

Iran's supreme court upheld the death sentence issued to Deris last week.

"Our mother suffered a stroke and died after learning the death sentence for our father. We have no one except our father," stated his three children in a video published on social media.

Fereshteh Tabanian, his lawyer, tweeted last week that the Supreme Court had upheld Deris' death sentence without taking into account the objections she had filed on July 5.

According to Tabanian, Deris has denied involvement in the shooting, while the family of the deceased special forces officer has consented to a pardon.

The unarmed protesters in northern Mahshahr were shot dead by security forces after blocking the street. Security forces fired heavy artillery and set parts of the canebrake on fire when protesters ran towards it to take cover. Eyewitnesses said there were at least 20 deaths on the street and 40 deaths in the canebrake.