Amnesty Urges A Halt To Execution Threat For Iranian Protester

Amnesty International has issued a call to action concerning the imminent threat of Abbas Deris's execution, one of the detainees from Iran's November 2019 protests.

Expressing grave concern, the human rights organization warned that Deris, who has endured torture, faces the serious risk of execution.

In a statement released on Friday, Amnesty highlighted that Deris's legal team “have submitted an application for a special appeal…, under which the Head of the Judiciary can refer a final judgment he deems as contravening Shari’a law to a special branch of the Supreme Court for a conclusive verdict. This appeal is pending.”

Deris was sentenced to death by a Revolutionary Court on October 19, 2022, on charges of "enmity against God" related to his alleged involvement in a protest in Mahshahr on November 18, 2019. The protest was violently suppressed by security forces, resulting in the deaths of numerous protesters and a commander of Iran’s Counter Terrorism Special Forces (NOPO).

Authorities have accused Deris of involvement in the death of the commander, a charge he denies.

Amnesty International has received information from credible sources indicating severe human rights violations following Deris's arrest. Revolutionary Guards agents reportedly denied him access to legal representation for months during the investigation phase. Deris was subjected to torture, including beatings, prolonged solitary confinement, and threats against his family members, including threats of sexual violence against his wife.

Amnesty International has urgently called upon Iran’s judiciary “to immediately quash the conviction and death sentence of Abbas Deris and release him unless he is charged with an internationally recognizable criminal offence and is given a fair retrial without recourse to the death penalty and excluding torture-tainted confessions.”