The Fifth Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Isfahan has sentenced Ilia Ben Rashid, a 23-year-old Arab protester from Shahinshahr and one of the detainees from the nationwide protests, to death, along with lengthy prison terms and supplementary punishments. Judicial documents obtained and statements from the uncle of this political prisoner in an interview with the Karoon Human Rights Organization confirm the direct involvement of the IRGC’s intelligence organization in fabricating charges and issuing these severe sentences.
Details of the Verdict: Death Sentence Issued Without a Designated Lawyer
According to the official verdict, a copy of which has been provided to the Karoon Human Rights Organization, Ilia Ben Rashid (born August 2005) has been sentenced to death despite having no prior criminal record. This judicial document indicates that this young protester was deprived of the right to choose his own lawyer, and the court proceedings were conducted only with the presence of a court-appointed lawyer identified as Jawad Panjepour. According to this verdict, which was officially communicated to him on Tuesday, October 20, in Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan, the court classified him as a ‘mohareb’ (enemy of God) for ‘destruction of public property during the protests on January 7, 2025’ and sentenced him to death.
Additionally, the court sentenced Ilia Ben Rashid to three years and six months and one day of prison for ‘conspiracy to commit a crime against national security,’ and nine months and one day of prison along with a two-year travel ban for ‘propaganda against the regime.’ Earlier, in June of this year, Branch 102 of the Criminal Court in Shahinshahr had also sentenced him to six months in prison and 20 lashes in a separate case. The main basis for the indictment and the sentences issued in this verdict is directly attributed to a ‘report from the IRGC intelligence in Shahinshahr,’ revealing a security fabrication against this citizen.
In this context, Pouya Ben Rashid, the uncle of this political prisoner residing abroad, revealed new dimensions of this security fabrication process in an exclusive interview with the Karoon Human Rights Organization. He stated that Ilia was a single young man working in a gaming center. ‘Ilia was arrested during the protests in his hometown of Shahinshahr, but was released after a while upon posting bail. While it was assumed that the case was following a legal process, the IRGC intervened with a new scenario.’ Mr. Ben Rashid added regarding the manner of his nephew’s re-arrest: ‘A few months after his temporary release, the IRGC intelligence forces summoned Ilia again. They re-arrested him under completely baseless charges and security pressures, a process that ultimately led to the inhumane death sentence for my nephew.’ The Karoon Human Rights Organization views the issuance of death sentences for protesters as a systematic tool in the hands of the Iranian regime’s repression machine to instill fear in society.
The unlawful summons of a citizen who has been released on bail, the irregular fabrication of charges by parallel security agencies such as the IRGC, the deprivation of independent legal representation, and the attribution of the severe charge of ‘moharebeh’ in the absence of a fair trial constitute a clear violation of the right to life and international obligations. This human rights organization strongly condemns the issuance of death sentences, imprisonment, and flogging against Ilia Ben Rashid and calls on the international community, human rights defenders, and the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran to intervene immediately to prevent the execution of this inhumane sentence and to end the judicial immunity of human rights violators in Iran.
