Iran Indicts Father Of Slain Protester Over 'Security' Charges

Mashallah Karami, the father of slain protester Mohammad Mehdi Karami, has been indicted for alleged crimes against national security, along with eight other political prisoners.

According to the indictments in court proceedings on Wednesday, they were accused of five crimes including “forming groups to undermine national security,” “insulting the supreme leader” and “propaganda against the Islamic Republic.”

Information received by Iran International indicates that the Islamic Republic’s judiciary has so far refused to allow Karami’s lawyer to have access to and review the accused’s file.

Mashallah Karami was arrested on August 22, 2023, one month before the first anniversary of the Iranian people's uprising, when security forces stormed his home.

Human rights organizations and advocacy groups reported that, during the same period, security forces confiscated electronic devices such as laptops and mobile phones belonging to the Karami family and froze their bank cards.

Mohammad Mehdi Karami was executed on January 7, 2023, along with another protester, Mohammad Hosseini. They were accused of participating in protests and allegedly being involved in the killing of Ruhollah Ajamian, a Basij member present at the 40th-day memorial ceremony for Hadis Najafi, another victim of anti-regime protests in Karaj.

At least eight people have been executed for their involvement in nationwide protests triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in September 2022.

Since then, the Islamic Republic has continued to harass the families of the victims of Woman, Life, Freedom protests.

Mahsa Yazdani, the mother of Mohammad Javad Zahedi, one of the casualties of Iran’s nationwide protests in 2022, has also been sentenced to 13 years in prison.