Conversation with Ali Kalai

Nasrin Sotoudeh is a first-degree lawyer and social activist who has experienced years of imprisonment and even had her license to practice law revoked. She is a member of the Human Rights Defenders Association and has represented many social and political activists, as well as some victims and executed individuals in the aftermath of the 2009 election.

In this issue of the Peace Line, we have spoken with Nasrin Sotoudeh, who has recently accepted the defense of Mohammad Ali Taheri. Ms. Sotoudeh, while mentioning the charges and the progress of the case, considers it unfair and says, “Security forces are trying every day to execute Mr. Taheri.”

Mrs. Studdeh also stated that with the announcement of this point, “any reading file that exists and is read from any side, Mr. Taheri must be released today,” explicitly considers the death sentence of Mohammad Ali Taheri solely because of his thoughts.

Mrs. Studied; Since when have you become the lawyer of Mr. Taheri and what led you to enter this case at this stage?

Of course, I have not yet been successful in entering the legal case. I faced some administrative problems; at the same time, or rather a quarter before me, another colleague went and declared their representation. When three lawyers (Mr. Alizadeh Tabatabaei, Ms. Zainab Taheri, and Mr. Keshvari) are present in the Revolutionary Court, it is not legally possible for a fourth lawyer to enter. In fact, according to the law, in such heavy cases, only three lawyers can intervene in the Revolutionary Court. Therefore, my representation was not possible at this stage in the Revolutionary Court. However, I had previously obtained representation from Mr. Taheri.

Please tell us a little about the current status of Mr. Taheri’s case; what is the current situation of this case?

As you know, Mr. Taheri’s case is currently facing the death penalty. The latest verdict issued in this case is the death penalty against Mr. Taheri. This verdict, which is based solely on Mr. Taheri’s thoughts and ideas, is quite surprising. Even the revolutionary court that issued this verdict has not attempted to obtain any executive measures from the case, nor have they published or referenced them. In fact, it must be said that there was no crime committed for the court to refer to. The entire verdict is based on Mr. Taheri’s thoughts and the impact it has had among his supporters – both in terms of quantity and quality. For example, it has been stated that the collection of evidence indicates the widespread activities of the accused throughout the country. It has also been mentioned that the accused, without any religious or educational background, has formed multiple classes on the subject of theology and knowledge, and has mocked religious beliefs and laws, wasting the time of those present.

What does this bring? These are several sentences from this indictment that all refer to Mr. Taheri’s beliefs. These same phrases have been used throughout this indictment. When I read the file, I realized that this file has managed several charges worthy of death. Let me tell them to you one by one.

One is the act of armed assassination and membership in the group of Mojahedin-e Khalq, both of which are considered acts of war. The second is an illicit relationship with a married woman, which can result in the death penalty. The third is apostasy, which can also result in death. The Prophet’s verdict is the same. The last case is related to corruption on earth, for which the court has only issued a verdict for Mr. Taheri under the title of corruption on earth. For the other charges, either a ban on prosecution or an acquittal has been issued.

Therefore, the current ruling is only under the title of corruption on earth, which I previously mentioned is mostly due to Mr. Taheri’s beliefs. In fact, there is no disagreement between lawyers and judges in this case, where in other cases, other than corruption on earth, a ruling of acquittal or a restraining order has been issued. But please pay attention to this process: here, the issue of participating in and being a member of the Fedayeen Khalq group is brought up, and then it leads to mysticism and is introduced as a group of Satanists and deviants who have deviated from religious teachings. These two have absolutely no compatibility and there are suspicious signs in forming a case.

Regarding the accusation of corruption on earth in the verdict issued by the Supreme Court of the country in 1394, Mr. Taheri’s sentence is “violated” and not flawed. There was no flaw in that decision. In relation to the death sentence for the charge of corruption on earth in Branch 33 of the Supreme Court, it is announced that it is not compatible with either the old or the new law. The court also told the Revolutionary Court that there was no need for a religious or Islamic ruling. Finally, this case is returned to the Revolutionary Court. In fact, after the verdict of the Supreme Court, the Revolutionary Court should have only dealt with lighter crimes related to the case. But to our surprise, the same charge of corruption on earth was once again brought up and investigated. However, the Revolutionary Court recently – with the arguments that I have mentioned to you – has once again sentenced Mr. Taheri to death. It should be noted that in 1395,

Mrs. Studied, do you think that the handling of Mr. Taheri’s case is fair according to the current judicial laws in Iran?

This journey is by no means fair. These accusations have gradually been added to Mr. Taheri’s case over the course of six years, and we can understand the concept of such efforts to bring someone to the brink of execution. Someone is arrested and security forces are working every day to put the detained person at risk of execution and carry out a sentence against them. If they do not recant, they are accused of apostasy; if they do not apostatize, they are accused of being a combatant; if they do not engage in combat, they are accused of spreading corruption on earth. This shows that there is a will to carry out such a heavy sentence without any crime having occurred. And this is not only worrying for Mr. Taheri, but for the community and citizens as well.

You spoke about efforts against Mr. Taheri. What is the reason for the sensitivity of security institutions regarding this case?

You should ask the reason from the gentlemen themselves. But as a lawyer, I can express my concern about this suspicious process. These processes jeopardize national security and judicial security entirely.

What rights do you think Mr. Taheri has been violated as a defendant during the trial process, from the moment of his arrest until today?

The first step was the initial arrest of Mr. Taheri. This arrest was unjust. At various times, including currently, keeping him in detention after the issuance of a Supreme Court ruling was completely illegal and this illegal process is still ongoing. There were also subsequent charges brought against him after his arrest, which were mentioned in the initial ruling of the Supreme Court. The accused has stated that new charges, including corruption on earth, were brought against him while in detention. This formation of new charges after the arrest of an individual on serious and even minor charges is one of the most obvious violations of fair trial; this is what happened to Mr. Taheri. From the beginning, in 2011, the case that went to the Revolutionary Court was faced with serious charges. However, the presiding judge ultimately sentenced him to five years. Of course, even that five-year sentence was unjust. But after he had served most of his sentence and was supposed to be released from prison in the not too

In summary, the most important issues that have brought the case to this point are: Mr. Taheri was not released on time, he was unlawfully detained, and the cases related to his serious and multiple charges were formed after his arrest.

Given this situation, what do you think about the outcome of this case? Is there any hope for Mr. Taheri to be saved from this judicial system?

I believe that regardless of any evidence presented and no matter which angle the case is approached from, Mr. Taheri should be released today. In this case, the judge has never been able to refer to any practical action taken by Mr. Taheri. This shows that, just as a large portion of Iranian society believes, the death sentence for Mr. Taheri is based on ideology. Allow me to point out another fact in proving that this is a clear case of fabrication. Alongside these unrelated accusations, such as the accusation of being a deviant Sufi and involvement in armed terrorism and membership in the Fedayeen Cherik group, the issue of promoting Baha’ism has also been mentioned as one of the charges against him. This collection of unrelated accusations, which have no correlation with each other, is a testament to the all-encompassing effort to bring the case to this point.

Thank you for the opportunity you have given us.