Political prisoner Seyed Mohammad-Javad Vafaie, currently held in Vakilabad Prison, Mashhad, is facing the threat of execution. The Revolutionary Court of Mashhad handed down a death sentence after a retrial in July 2023.
Vafaie, a 28-year-old boxing coach, was arrested by security forces in Mashhad in March 2020 and subsequently incarcerated in Vakilabad Prison. In January 2020, Babak Paknia, Vafaie’s lawyer, revealed that his client had been convicted of “spreading corruption on earth through arson and intentional destruction of public property, including the penitentiary building.” However, the Supreme Court later overturned the initial verdict, leading to a retrial in another branch.
Despite the retrial, the Revolutionary Court once again sentenced him to death. Notably, following the verdict, Vafaie was granted a substantial bail, which he was unable to afford.
The reissuance of the death sentence after the retrial has raised serious concerns about the potential imminent execution of Mohammad-Javad Vafaie.