Hossein Kheiri Sentenced to Death for “Moharebeh”

Babak Paknia, the lawyer of political prisoner Hossein Kheiri, announced the issuance of the death sentence to his client on charges of Moharebeh by destroying property with the intention to oppose the regime.

Moharebeh, loosely translated as “waging war against God”, is a pillar of Sharia Law that is typically applied to those suspected of connection to any acts against the state.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting the Emtedad news, Paknia has stated, “Our strong evidence shows that the charge of moharebeh does not fit the actions taken by my client.”

He explained that an indictment was issued by the Evin Security Court against eight people, of whom four were accused of moharebeh and the rest were prosecuted on charges of collusion against national security and the like.

“We defended and the court accepted that out of the four, three could not be punished under the guise of moharebeh, but the actions of Hossein Kheiri were recognized as moharebeh and a death sentence was issued for him,” Paknia said. “We will submit our bill of appeal in two weeks to be reconsidered in the Supreme Court.”