Mohammad Ali Taheri

Founder of Erfan Halghe Cultural Institute and Iranian supplementary medicine. He used to be commended by authorities for his activities, but in the mid 2000s he became the target of security forces. Mr. Taheri and some of his supporters were sentenced to heavy prison sentences. Among his charges is "supporting Fadayian Khalgh" in the 80s.

<coverage-outsourcing id='9938'> The National Youth Organization issued a license to practice for "Kanoon Erfan Keyhani". Some of the media close to security forces say that this license was not renewed in upcoming years </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9937'> According to a Deutsche Welle report titled "From Meta-therapy to Heresy", his legal and security challenges started that year </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='901'> Arrested and released from prison after two months </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9945'> A few days before his arrest, the dean of Traditional Medicine University of Armenia and his delegation travelled to Tehran and presented him with an honorary doctrate </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9940'> According to Fars, he was arrested on April 21 and released after 24 hours </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9939'> In his blog he announced his willingness to debate or answer any question regarding his treatment method </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9941'> After being summoned to the court located in Evin Prison, he was arrested and transferred to solitary confinement in ward 2-A </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='525'> Was arrested after being summoned to Evin Prison and held in solitary confinement in Ward 2-A of Evin Prison </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9942'> A few days before his third arrest, Erfan website shared a PDF file which contained fatwas of the 15 Ayatollahs. Almost all of them -emphasizing that their opinion is based on hypothetical questions- have stated that participation in Erfan Halghe classes is haram and some of them requested stronger actions against them. The file is documented in the Supporting Evidence section of this page. Based on the observations of Atlas researchers, in many cases that Islamic Republic's security forces target a dissident religious or spiritual group, when the arrests begin, at the same time there are blogs and websites created which refute the ideas of the people incarcerated </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9943'> Based on a report from Bultan News, a website close to security forces, according to an informed source, his charges are being involved in two assassinations and keeping classified documents. These charges were mentioned much less later on </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9946'> Tehran Attorney General, Mr. Jafari Dolat Abadi stated that Mr. Mohammad Ali Taheri's case is not related to fortune tellers and exorcists. "There are differences between Taheri and the fortune tellers. Mr. Taheri has been active in intellectual fields and illegal theses and was arrested in that regard, and his case has been sent for appeal to public court." But in upcoming years, Media outlets close to security organizations would relate his case to the case against fortune tellers and exorcists (for example refer to Mehr's report on October 7 of 2014) </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9947'> According to Jaras, The Human Rights Council of the United Nations reviewed his case and concluded that the arrest of Mohammad Ali Taheri and people close to him are baseless and based on fictitious accusations </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9948'> Jaras published a list of his awards and prizes </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='528'> Sentenced to 74 lashes for “touching the wrists of female patients,” five years in prison for “blasphemy,” 10 million tomans ($3,333) in fines for "producing and distributing audio-visual material," and 900 million tomans in fines (approximately $300,000) for “interfering in medical science,” “earning illegitimate funds,” and “distribution of audio-visual products and use of academic titles" </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9416'> He returned to prison after a week of temporary leave for the new year </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='902'> His wife Ziba Mohammedan arrested at their home </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='526'> Writes letter to UN Special Rapporteur Ahmad Shaheed complaining about torture and abuse during interrogation </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9949'> Some of his supporters believe that he has been killed under torture in this month during his "twelfth hunger strike". His family and attorneys have refuted this news </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9950'> According to Fars, 16 of Erfan Halghe masters were collectively sentenced to 37 years in prison and 130 million tomans in fines. The sentences were between one to five years for each individual </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9951'> His first trial session for the charge of "Corruption on earth" was delayed due to the assembly of a large number of his supporters. Police forces attacked this gathering </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9952'> A video of him with his wife and attorneys was released on internet. The video description claims that it was taken before the court session a few days earlier. The video is documented in the Supporting Evidence section of this page </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9953'> According to Fars, 12 of Erfan Halghe masters were collectively sentenced to 24 years in prison and returning 100 million Tomans in funds. They were sentenced between one to five years of prison individually </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='8241'> His second trial session for the charge of "Corruption of earth" was held in branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court. A group of his followers were arrested for an assembly on this day </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='529'> The Revolutionary Court sentenced him to "Corruption of Earth" </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9954'> Nasrin Sotoudeh told Persian VOA that in this case there are other fatwas which conflict with the fatwas that led to death sentence. These fatwas are documented in the Supporting Evidence section of this page </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='8174'> Pirouz Mansouri, Saeed Shirzad, Soheil Babadi, Shahrokh Zamani, Shahin Zoghitabar, and Misah Yazdannezhad published a statement requesting Mohammad Taheri's death sentence to be overturned, stating this verdict is an assault to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='8240'> It was reported that a group of his supporters visited the houses of some of the prominent Ayatollahs in city of Qom and informed them of his case proceedings by providing documents and books published by Mohammad Ali Taheri. The clerics visited by Mr. Taheri's supporters and students in Qom were as follows: Mousavi Ardebili, Shobeiri Zanjani, Bayat Zanjani, Safi Golpaygani, Makarem Shirazi, Nouri Hamedani, Alavi Gorgani, Geram, Sistani, Vahid Khorasani, and the office of the supreme leader in Qom </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9955'> A group of artists, writers, and political and social activists signed a petition requesting the release of Taheri "who's in prison for thought crimes". Among the signatories are: Jafar Panahi, Babak Ahmadi, Gohar Eshghi, Shahnaz Kamali, Nasrin Sotoudeh, Mohammad Maleki, Fakhrossadat Mohatashamipour, Sadegh Ziba Kalam, Esmaeel Mokhtari, and Mohammad Nourizad </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9944'> According to Fars, the book "Halghe Esarat" was published in refutation of his ideas. Before and after the publication of this book, media outlets close to security forces had attempted to refute his ideas through debates and programs in which only his critics were given a voice. In addition to charges such as "practicing medicine without license", most of the charges are related to his different interpretation of religion </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9956'> ILNA published the transcript of the fatwas and answers of the three Ayatollahs who the media outlets close to security forces claimed the death sentence of Taheri was based on their fatwas. Makarem Shirazi's answer stated that the apostasy fatwa is not true (The answer is documented in the Supporting Evidence section of this page) and ALavi Gorgani said that the apostasy fatwa was issued based on a hypothetical question and it was not directed at Mohammad Ali Taheri personally. But Mohammad Ali Gerami did not provide a clear response to the to the request of fatwa </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9957'> The website of Ayatollah Alavi Gorgani published a statement announcing that this high ranking cleric has not changed his fatwa, and in this case determining apostasy "is the responsibility of the court and the judge" and he will not "judge for or against" it </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9958'> Mohammad Ali Taheri's attorney said that his client's preliminary sentence was overturned by the branch 33 of the supreme court due to violations in the investigations and the case has been returned to branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9959'> His attorney told Taslim that "in this case, it was pointed out that his client supported leftists groups in the early years after the revolution, for which the supreme court has asked the court to specify what crimes has his client committed in those years" </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='5314'> Reports indicate that despite his death sentence being overturned, he has gone on a hunger strike in protest to not being released in the specified time. He had gone on lengthy hunger strikes several times before </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9965'> There were reports that he fell in to a coma after his long hunger strike. In later reports it was mentioned that security forces hospitalized Mohammad Ali Taheri in VIP1 of room 7 under the name Asghar Hassani </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='8243'> His attorney, Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabayi, announced in a group of reporters that the court has extended his arrest warrant despite his client's request to be release on bail </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='5657'> His attorney announced that his arrest warrant expired on April 6 2016, but the case interrogator intends to issue a new arrest warrant for him </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='5752'> Hi attorney announced that his client has paid his fine of 900 million tomans and the request for application of Article 134 has been submitted </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='16500'> Throughout the past years, many of Mohammad Ali Taheri’s students were condemned to lashings and long prison terms. Their names have been listed in the Persian section of Mr. Taheri’s page. For a group of these citizen who were incarcerated after the fall of 2016, profiles have been created as the status of their case required </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='19663'> In this year many of his students from different cities in Iran were arrested and condemned, most of them to suspended sentences. Some of these arrests have been mentioned in the Persian section. Individuals who stayed under arrest longer, have profiles on IPA </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='19070'> A large number of the supporters of Mohammad Ali Taheri and followers of Erfan Halgheh, from different locations, were transferred to Fashafouyeh prison. Reports have been published of the assault and battery of some of them in this prison </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='10920'> According to a text that websites close to Erfan Halghe have published in December 2016 as Mohammad Ali Taheri's defense statement, the branch 3 of Shahid Moghaddas court interrogator (Mr.Hosseini) issued a cease of prosecution regarding all the charges for which the supreme court had asked evidence and investgation </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='7391'> In an interview with Harana, Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabayi mentioned that he has heard that the charge of "insulting the prophet" has been brought up in the new case against Mohammad Ali Taheri, but he has yet to receive the case file. He explained that Article 286 (conviction of which is proof of Corruption on Earth punishable by death) which was ratified after his arrest, has already been overturned by the supreme court in his case. But his charges for ties to Fadayian Khalgh and practicing medicine still remain in his case and has been returned to the Revolutionary Court for another review. He continued that the charge of insulting the prophet was never mentioned in his case and was not brought up in his original sentence either. The judge originally had charged him with blasphemy and sentenced him to five years in prison. He continued "They can no longer sentence him to death based on previous charges, because they have been overturned." He once again emphasized that Mr. Taheri has been in prison since 2010, so he cannot be tried for Article 286 which was ratified in 2013. It is worth mentioning that according to Iran laws, an individual cannot be tried and convicted based on laws that are passed after their arrest </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='7482'> He was allowed to attend his daughter's wedding for a few hours under supervision </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='8473'> Harana published a letter with six thousand signatures addressed to the supreme leader of Iran titled "A Public Plea and Report". The letter lists the illegal actions of security forces and the judiciary, calls his persecution a work of "infiltrating agents", and states that the trials lacked "even the minimum standards of Islamic Republic laws" </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='8860'> After seven months of suspense in temporary incarceration, Mohammad Ali Taheri's indictment which was issued on July 9 of 2016, was finally referred to branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court. According to Nejat Ba Halghe, his case has been referred to branch 26 and later the branch 30 prosecutor (judge Teyrani) despite the fact that Mohammad Ali Taheri's attorney has not been able to read his case since the indictment, and is not aware of the new charges his client will be facing </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9413'> A group of Mohmmad Ali Taheri's students in Turkey had a gathering in protest. According to Nejat Ba Halgheh website, these followers of Erfan Halghe claimed the arrest of Mohammad Ali Taheri and other thought prisoners s against the constitution and anti-inquisition article. In addition to this assembly, his supporters have organized many other gatherings in other cities and countries </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9412'> After the visit from Mohammad Ali Taheri's students, Ayatollah Alavi Gorgani stated that he has no right to interfere in matters of the judiciary. According to Nejat Halgheh website, Ayatollah Gorgani is one of the three high ranking clerics who issued the apostasy fatwa for Taheri </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9414'> Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabayi announced the extension of his client's arrest warrant. According to ISNA, he said that this extension does not have a legal basis. Because this arrest warrant was issued for the charge of corruption on earth, and since the supreme court overturned this verdict, this arrest warrant is not justified </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='15484'> Different website of Erfan Halgheh announced the news of the condemnation of one of his students, Baharin Asgarieh, in the court of appeals. Ms. Asgarieh, in the initial hearing at branch 26 of the Revolutionary court of Tehran, headed by judge Ahmadzadeh, was condemned to six years incarceration, 74 lashes of the whip, and a fine of six hundred thousand Tomans. The judges of the Appeals court of Tehran, Abbas Ali Jezvan and Ahmad Zargar, confirmed the sentence, adding to it two years exile in Tabriz </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9735'> He started his hunger strike </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9936'> According to Saham, a group of his supporters visited offices of Ayatollahs Makarem Shirazi, Vahid Khorasani, Alavi Gorgani, Fazel Lankarani, and Gerami Qomi and informed them of his conditions. The letter they delivered is documented in the Supporting Evidence section of this page </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='10007'> Azardokht Taheri, Mohammad Ali Taheri's sister told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that according to her brother's attorney, he has been exonerated from the charge of "Corruption on Earth", and has been issued a cease of prosecution for the charges of insulting the prophet, apostasy, assembly and conspiracy against the national security through membership in Fadayian Khalgh Partisans Organization </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='11043'> In the Autumn of 2016, the protests of Mohammad Ali Taheri's supporters increased once again. They gathered in front of Evin Prison, congress, the Ministery of Justice, and other places and demanded his freedom. These protests were not limited to Tehran, and they occurred in other Iranian cities and even abroad. But the response from the security forces was mainly violent crackdowns and arresting the protesters. Those arrested were systematically sent to prisons that do not hold political prisoners, so the difficult conditions of these prisons usually lead to the violation of the prisoner's rights </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9736'> He was moved to solitary </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9964'> According to Saham, the case attorney's told Erfan News Agency that they have been asked not to publicize this case </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9963'> Saham reported that according to informed sources, the interrogators have officially informed him that the reason for the blocked communication between him and his family is his ongoing hunger strike </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9737'> Amnesty International published a statement asking the regime of Iran to release information regarding Mohammad Ali Taheri's condition and whereabouts, and to release this ideological prisoner immediately and without any conditions </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='10016'> Azardokht Taheri told the International Campaign for Human Rights that: My brother's lawyer informed us that my brother has fallen in to a coma due to his hunger strike, and was then transferred to Baghiatollah hospital. She continued that Mr. Taheri's family have not been able to find him in Baghiatollah Hospital, and the Evin Prison authorities are not responding </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9968'> Shitin Ebadi told Erfan News Agency that: > The continued incarceration of Mr. Taheri without a legally justified cause, is an example of arbitrary and illegal arrests </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9734'> In a statement titled "Where is Mohammad Ali Taheri?", Amnesty International asked the Islamic Republic to release information regarding his whereabouts and free this thought prisoner immediately. Amnesty International states that according to Mr. Mohammad Ali Taheri's family, his primary interrogator and a masked man transferred Mr. Taheri to the interrogation room and pressured him to give a video confession. According to his family, Mr. Taheri was battered for his resistance </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='9970'> In a letter to Tehran Attorney General, five students of Mohammad Ali Taheri, namely Fahimeh Arafi, Ameneh Jaberi, Zahra Rastgoo, Leila Jafari, and Leila Sabz Ali Jamaat, asked for his freedom </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='10236'> 700 of his students wrote a letter to the supreme leader's advisor, Ali Akbar Velayati, saying Mohammad Ali Taheri's teachings are "in accordance with Islam" and asked for the supreme leader to oversee the "enforcement of justice" in this case. The letter was published by Harana and is documented in the Supporting Evidence section of this page </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='10136'> The Human Rights Commissary of Germany's Ministry of Foreign Affairs voiced concerns about his conditions and asked Iran to release him from prison </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='10921'> In an article published by Erfan News Agency website titled November 2016 Defense, it is reported that interrogator Assadi has tried to take "false confessions, interviews, and other dictated material" from Mr. Mohammad Ali Taheri through "creating fear and panic" with the help of other ward 2-A interrogators, and by providing "fifteen fake death sentences". Previously, Soheil Babadi and Gholam Hossein Arshi had also provided examples of violation of fair legal procedure by interrogatorr Assadi in their letters. Mihammad Ali Taheri also emphasized that November 2011 confessions were also recorded the same way </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='10214'> Amnesty International released a statement offering details of the cases of the eight prisoners on hunger strike and demanding their freedom. The mentioned prisoners are: Mohammad Ali Taheri, Arash Sadeghi, Mehdi Rajabian, Hossein Rajabian, Rasoul Razavi, Morteza Moradpour, Vahid Sayadi Nassiri, and Ali Shariati </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='10953'> Four other individuals asked to be incarcerated in Evin Prison as part of the "Migration to Evin" campaign, but they do not get arrested </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='10640'> Police attacked a gathering of his supporters in front of the congress and arrested some of them. According to Errfan News, Ali Motahari, Mahmoud Sadeghi, Fatemeh Hosseini, and Ali Najafi were among the members of congress who objected to the "Police's violent behavior" in a note to Minister of State </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='10645'> According to "Erfan Halghe Reporter", over a hundred of his supporters gathered in front of the State Ministry building, but the police arrested over 15 of them. The same website reported that his followers had gathered in 6 different locations in Tehran two days ago </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='10501'> His lawyer said he will be tried once again on this day for the charge of "Moharebeh". Also according to "Rah'e Dana", a website close to the security organizations published a video claiming it was filmed in courthouse corridors, and said he is completely healthy </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='10581'> Harana reported that Hassan Rouhani was asked in a letter signed by twelve thousand people to look after the eights prisoners on hunger strike </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='10599'> In an interview with Harana, Ziba Mahmoudian claimed that she is threatened "as soon as she protests", but since she believes her husband must be released, she will no longer visit him in prison and even waiver the phone calls. She said nothing happened at the court session presided by Judge Ahmadzadeh a few days ago, and only the next court date was set. She said that October 12 was their last visitation and on October 6 she received the last phone call from Mohammad Ali Taheri. Ms Mahmoudian also emphasized that her husband "was issued a cease prosecution for his case and also Judge Ahmadzadeh has acknowledged that there are no other charges in the case" </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='10641'> According to "Erfan Halghe Reporter" website, a group of Mohammad Ali Taheri's supporters met with Ali Motahari and presented him with a complain petition with five thousand signatures regarding the "violent treatment of Mohammad Ali Taheri's supporters by the security forces" </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='10922'> A text that is said to be related to his December 3 court defense is documented in the Supporting Evidence section of this page </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='10678'> His court session was postponed </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='10919'> According to "Erfan Halghe Reporter" website, a group of his supporters gathered in front of the Ministry of Justice building on Valiasr street to deliver a letter, but due to intervention of the police and security forces in civilian clothing, they were not allowed to do so </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='10917'> Tens of his supporters went to Evin Prison and asked to be incarcerated as part of the "Migration to Evin Campaign", stating "If thought is a crime, we are all criminals". A number of them were arrested </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='10918'> The second group of his supporters arrived at Evin Prison and asked to be incarcerated as part of the "Migration to Evin Campaign" and some were arrested </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='10954'> Harana reported that women who were arrested in "Migration to Evin" campaign, have been charged with "disruption of public order" and been sent to Gharchak Prison. According to this report, the arrested were battered due to their objection to their exile and charges </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='11042'> the forth group of his supporters asked to be incarcerated in Evin Prison as part of the "Migration to Evin" campaign </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='11022'> Harana published a letter from a group of former political prisoners and families of political prisoners and victims. In this letter, they asked the prisoners on hunger strike to end their strike, because in such conditions where "there is no strong will for an effective popular movement, unlimited hunger strike specifically, has no sustainable result but wearing out and destroying the freedom seeking forces and bringing joy to the regime authorities" </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='11967'> Asma Jahangir, special human rights rapporteur of the United Nations for Iran, along with Michael Forst, special rapporteur for human rights defenders, and Roland Adjovi, the special rapporteur to the UN for arbitrary arrests, in a statement, expressed concern regarding the long hunger strike, of Arash Sadeghi, Ali Shariati, Saeed Shirazi, Mohammad Reza Nekounam, Hassan Rastegari Majd, and Nizar Zakka, and warned that it may lead to death. These three United Nations special rapporteurs, while raising alarm over the dire condition of some of the political and ideological prisoners on hunger strike in Iran, asked the Iranian government for the immediate and unconditional release of prisoners arrested arbitrarily. According to Zamaneh, this statement underlined the special concern for those prisoners who were arrested because of peaceful efforts to defend and expand human rights in Iran </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='12696'> Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei told the Erfan news agency that his client submitted his complaint against judge Ahmadzadeh to the prison guard a month ago, but, until now, it has not been registered </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='12695'> Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei in his talk with the Erfan news agency, gave the news from Zainab Taheri that one of Mohammad Taher’s attorneys, has been the target of threats, by an unknown individuals “from the milieu of the security forces”, to dissuade him from continuing defense in this case. He was, also, reported these threats to the judiciary </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='13881'> Amnesty International North American chapter, has devoted a letter writing campaign for the Iranian new year, Norouz, addressing: Saeed Malekpour, Keyvan Karimi, Mehdi Rajian, Hossein Rajabian, Nargess Mohammadi, MohammadAli Taheri, Atena Daemi, and Mahvash Sabet </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='13264'> Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei told HRANA that, after investigations by the prosecutor his client received a warrant to cease pursuit in connection with the charges of “assembly and collusion against national security, connection with Fadaei Khalq guerrillas, and apostasy”-and the only matter that branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court has to review is the charge of “meddling in medical matters”, for which there is, also, no private plaintiff </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='13388'> According to his sister’s account, given to International Campaign for Human Rights, on this day, once again, the charge of “spreading corruption on earth” was discussed and , almost, the entire session was devoted to reviewing this charge </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='13389'> Iranian state television broadcasted a film named, “halgheh sheytan”, where scenes of interrogation & clips from the speeches of Mohammad Ali Taheri were shown next to interviews with individuals, who were introduced as abused former students, accusing Mr. Taheri of apostasy and witchcraft. At the end of this film, these individuals whose identity is unclear ask for his execution. In a segment of this film, once again the charge of assassination of enemies of Mohammad Ali Taheri was maintained, along with images of bullets being removed from a body. This allegation, that was the work of the propaganda apparatus of the regime, has long been erased from the list of formal charges against Mr. Taheri. The broadcasting of this film and the repeated review of the charges related to “spreading corruption on earth”, has caused many concerns about the predicament of these ideological/religious prisoners. In addition to this, in these broadcasts the images of Mohammad Ali Taheri has been clearly display, something that is unlawful to do to the arrested in Iran </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='13436'> Erfan News Agency, published images of a letter, which it claims, was written by the deputy Intelligence director of Sarallah base, stressing the non-existence of abused or personal complaint. According to this letter in these recent years the abuses have increased & “fear of return of the old problems prevents prisoners from following through”. The image of this letter of Erfan News Agency can be found in the evidence section of this page </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='16000'> According to Dor TV, he filed a complaint with the Channel 3 of the state television and magistrate Asadi at Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court and the Tehran Prosecutor's Office. In the complaint, he has named the "fraudulent" acts of magistrate Asadi, including "providing 15 false sentences of execution" and "presenting fraudulent estefta' (request of clergies' decree)," "with putting forth false assumptions and unjust attributions" and has mentioned this "prejudiced evidence" to be a sign that the magistrate cannot "deliver a fair ruling". This complaint has been recorded in the Evidence section of this page </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='16326'> Alizadeh Tabatabaei, denied the news of Mohammad Ali Taheri’s temporary leave and told ILNA that Mr. Taheri’s court hearing will be held in a week or two. Before this, he told Erfan news agency that Mr. Taheri, has recently, gone to several court sessions by himself & without a lawyer to speak to the judge </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='16383'> Alizadeh Tabatabaei told Ensaf News, that Mohammad Ali Taheri’s hearing will take place in the second half of July. But, “Will not release the exact date of the court hearing, in order to avoid assembly of the followers of Mohammad Ali Taheri which take place in front of the court, despite many warnings” </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='19662'> In this year, especially after the re-issuance of the verdict of execution for Mohammad Ali Taheri, many of his students, from different cities in Iran, were arrested and condemned, most of them to suspended sentences. Some of these arrests have been mentioned in the Persian section. Individuals who stayed under arrest longer, have profiles on IPA </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='18371'> Alizadeh Tabatabaei told Ensaf News that Teyrnian (Teyrani) and Ahmadzadeh, are the two judges currently assigned to this case </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='18298'> According to the Erfan News Agency three thousand of his followers wrote an open letter to the Revolutionary court, protesting the “pressure put on judges of the Revolutionary court by the IRGC Sarallah base” </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='18310'> Alizadeh Tabatabaei told Erfan News agency that the court is being pressured by Enforcement Officials; the head of the judiciary is fully aware of the case; any verdict other than acquittance will be violated in the Supreme Court, and that he is hopeful of internal human rights institutions such as Islamic Human Rights , Judiciary Human Rights Deputy and President's Civil Rights Special Assistant </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='18995'> Nasrin Sotoudeh joined his team of lawyers. Prior to this Zainab Taheri, Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei, and Ahmad Khosravi Taz Gheshlagh were in his team of lawyers. A little later Ms. Sotoudeh announced that because of the concerns of Mr. Taheri’s family she has, for now, desisted from legal pursuit of his case </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='18704'> Iran Prison Atlas has received a news based on which Mohammad Ali Taheri has been sentenced to death </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='18557'> According to Zeitoon, the spokesperson for the Judiciary, Mohseni Eje'i stated that Mohammad Ali Taheri’s sentence has been issued, but refrained from disclosing further details </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='18848'> "We call on the Iranian Government to take whatever steps necessary to reverse Taheri’s conviction and death sentence" - U.S Department of State </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='18846'> Atena Daemi, Golrokh Ebarhimi and Maryam Akbari Monfared, wrote a letter asking human rights activists and organizations to put their efforts in demanding the nullification of the verdict against Mohammad Ali Taheri and demanding his freedom </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='19442'> Ferghe News reported that he was transferred to Qom, so that he can answer the questions of the judges of the Supreme Court of Iran. Ferghe News is one of the websites close to the security apparatus that is active against those who have a different view of religion than the Iranian regime </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='19599'> Mohammad Ali Taheri’s attorney, Zeinab Taheri, told Dorr TV that the verdict of execution of her client has been overturned by branch 33 (judges Niazi and Etemad) of the Supreme Court of Iran with the application of Article 469 B, of The Criminal Code {it has been written, mistakenly, Constitutional Code in the report}, and his case was sent to a parallel branch </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='20339'> I am gravely concerned about the on-going judicial review by Iran’s Revolutionary Court concerning the sentence of Dr. Mohammad Ali Taheri - Pier Antonio PANZERI, Subcommittee on Human Rights in the European Parliament </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='20580'> In a letter to the Evin Prison's prosecutor, complaining about violations of the fair trial, wrote that the issuance of a death sentence is synonymous with deliberate murder by abusing and deviating from the law according to a law passed after his arrest </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='20340'> His lawyer, Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei, told the Center for Human Rights in Iran that Judge Salavati told Mohammad Ali Taheri to dismiss his lawyer, and Taheri replied that "the lawyer wants to defend me or the head of the judiciary?" Mr Taheri has told:”If he wants to defend me he should have my endorsement. " After this discussion, Judge Salavati suspended the case. Mr. Alizadeh Tabatabai says: > The protest that I had to the judiciary since 2009 was that the judiciary had more than 10,000 judges. Why do you file security cases with two or three branches and question the credibility of the justice system like this? "He also said that his client is imprisoned in ward 2a, usually with a single person, and should legally be transferred to the general ward. Judge Salavati, contrary to the law, forbade lawyers from meeting him and that the psychological state of Mohammad Ali Taheri "is very good. So it made many angry why seven years of imprisonment, which was solitary for the most part, is in such good spiritual shape </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='20568'> According to ISNA, quoting from Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaee, Mohammad Ali Taheri was transferred to the court, but since the court did not accept Mr. Alizadeh Tabatabaei as a lawyer and Mohammad Ali Taheri did not accept to attend the trial without a lawyer, the court did not hold </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='21025'> The session to review his charges took place. Judge Salavati asked him three questions during this session, as to his travels abroad, education costs, and “disorienting the public”. In addition, Judge Salavati did not accept the statement of defense due to it not having all three lawyers’ signatures. Judge Salavati also prohibited Zeinab Taheri, Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei from being present in court. Furthermore, Mr. Alizadeh Tabatabaei was kept from entering the Revolutionary Court Building to follow up on any of his other clients’ files </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='21134'> According to reports, he has gone to court on this date and has been sentenced to five years in prison by judge Salavati. The following reports state that he has been sentenced to five years in prison on the basis of the article 286 of the Islamic Penal Code, which considers lighter penalties for milder forms of committing "crime" </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='23175'> He was transferred to Fashafouyeh prison </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='24295'> He was released from prison </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='25852'> USCIRF: > On April 23, 2019, after nearly eight years imprisonment, Taheri was released. However, he has not been permitted to leave his house and is under constant surveillance. He has also been forbidden to speak about his religious beliefs </coverage-outsourcing>