State Department, Amnesty call on Iran to reverse Taheri’s death sentence

Iran says authorities claim that Taheri had taken steps to advance “a soft overthrow of the holy establishment of the Islamic Republic” by creating doubts over religious beliefs in a widespread manner.

LOS ANGELES, United States (Kurdistan 24) - United States Department of State on Friday called on Iran to reverse the death sentence of a spiritual leader.

Heather Nauert, the Department Spokesperson, said in a statement that her office is concerned by the death sentence of Mohammad Ali Taheri, the founder of an Iranian spiritual movement and urged Iran to respect international laws.

"The charges of founding a religious cult and 'spreading corruption on earth' are inconsistent with Iran’s international obligations to respect and ensure his freedoms of expression and religion or belief and to reserve the death penalty 'only for the most serious crimes,'" the statement said.

Mohammad Ali Taheri from the Kurdish city of Kermanshah was convicted and sentenced to death on 27 August 2017 by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran for “spreading corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel arz).

The verdict states that the conviction is for establishing Erfan-e Halgheh and “corrupting the thoughts and beliefs of tens of thousands of Muslim citizens across the country” and cites as “evidence” Mohammad Ali Taheri’s books, writings, and teachings.

Some Taheri’s followers have also been recently arrested on similar charges.

"We call on the Iranian Government to take whatever steps necessary to reverse Taheri’s conviction and death sentence," the statement concluded.

Amnesty International also on Thursday called on Iran to stop executing Taheri who has been in solitary confinement for 6 years.

Speaking to Kurdistan 24 on the phone, a follower of Taheri's teaching said that her life changed for better after learning about the spirituality that Taheri preached.

"His [Taheri's] teaching has harmed no one whatsoever. He only speaks about God outside of the current interpretations of Islam by the regime, and that terrifies the government for whom religion is a tool of power and control," said Soraya Hatami, a school teacher in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province. 

In fact, authorities do claim that Taheri had taken steps to advance “a soft overthrow of the holy establishment of the Islamic Republic” by creating doubts over religious beliefs in a widespread manner.

Mohammad Ali Taheri’s trial took place over two sessions: 6 March and 10 July.

Prior to his first court hearing, Iranian state television aired "Satan’s Ring," a program which introduced him as the leader of a “perverse sect” and claimed his teachings had led people to doubt their Islamic beliefs.

At the end of the program, individuals who described themselves as “survivors” called for his execution.

This program was played during the 10 July trial session, along with videos of Mohammad Ali Taheri teaching at Erfan-e Halgheh or Interuniversalism classes before his 2011 arrest that attracted about 50,000.

This is the third time the authorities had sought the death penalty against Mohammad Ali Taheri for the same activities.The first was in 2011 when a Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment for “insulting Islamic sanctities,” but said further investigations were necessary before it could rule on the charge of “spreading corruption on earth.”

The first was in 2011 when a Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment for “insulting Islamic sanctities,” but said further investigations were necessary before it could rule on the charge of “spreading corruption on earth.”

In the following years, the authorities kept him in solitary confinement in Section 2A of Evin prison, where he remains imprisoned, while they claim to be carrying out investigations.

He was ultimately convicted of “spreading corruption on earth” in 2015 and sentenced to death, but acquitted on appeal in 2016.

However, he was not released and, in late 2016, was charged with “spreading corruption on earth” for the same activities that formed the basis of his 2011 conviction.

Amnesty says the criminal proceedings in Mohammad Ali Taheri’s case constitute a serious violation of the prohibition against double jeopardy, which protects individuals being tried or punished in the same jurisdiction for the same criminal offense they have already been convicted or acquitted of.

Article 14(7) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Iran is a party, states: “No one shall be liable to be tried or punished again for an offense for which he has already been finally convicted or acquitted in accordance with the law and penal procedure of each country.”

In October 2011, Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran convicted and sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment on the latter charge but said further investigations were necessary before it could rule on the former.

This investigation was subsequently used as a pretext by the authorities not to transfer him to the general ward of Evin prison and keep extending his detention in solitary confinement, Amnesty reported.

Despite the acquittal and even though Mohammad Ali Taheri had completed his five-year sentence from the 2011 case in February 2016, the authorities refused to release him.

Instead, they started a new round of interrogations and, in late 2016, they charged him again with “spreading corruption on earth,” leading to his 2017 trial, conviction and death sentence.

Taheri founded the Erfan-e Halgheh spiritual doctrine after receiving what he claims were “spiritual inspirations” that empowered him to connect with a larger “cosmic consciousness.” He practiced his newly found spiritual beliefs, along with his followers, in “healing sessions” apparently focused on alternative non-medicinal treatments.

Over the course of his imprisonment, Mohammad Ali Taheri has undertaken a total of 16 hunger strikes and attempted suicide four times in protest to his prolonged solitary confinement, lack of access to his family and lawyer, and repeated death threats against him and his family.

His most recent hunger strike began on 28 September 2016 and lasted 97 days.

According to the UN Human Rights Committee, which monitors the implementation of the ICCPR, prolonged solitary confinement may violate the absolute prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment.

The UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) prohibits the practice of prolonged solitary confinement, considered to be in excess of 15 consecutive days.