As Iran marks the anniversary of the November 2019 protests, two political prisoners who were arrested during those demonstrations remain on death row. These individuals, Abbas Deris, the only witness to the massacre in the Mahshahr marshes, and Mohammad Javad Vafa’i Thani, are currently held in prison under the threat of execution.
Abbas Deris: Witness to the Mahshahr Marshes Massacre
Abbas Deris, born in 1973, is a resident of Jarahi, a town near Bandar Mahshahr. He was detained during the November 2019 protests and is one of the few witnesses to the massacre in the marshlands of Mahshahr. Deris, who has three children aged 6, 14, and 16, has suffered severe personal losses since his arrest. His wife reportedly suffered a stroke and passed away after learning of his death sentence, leaving their children without parents and under the care of extended family.
Deris’s death sentence was reportedly based on forced confessions extracted under duress. His interrogation process was entirely overseen by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). During court proceedings, Deris repeatedly denied the charges and claimed that the confessions were the result of torture by intelligence officers. He has previously stated: “I am not afraid of execution because I know I am innocent.”
Abbas Deris was arrested on December 8, 2019, after security forces violently attacked protesters in the Mahshahr marshes during the November protests. He was accused of “brandishing a weapon” and “complicity in the murder of Reza Sayyadi,” a member of the special forces unit in Mahshahr who was killed on that day.
Mohammad Javad Vafa’i Thani: A Political Prisoner and Former Boxing Champion
Mohammad Javad Vafa’i Thani, a 28-year-old boxing champion from Mashhad, was arrested by the IRGC in March 2020 following the November 2019 protests. He endured 65 days of physical and psychological torture during his initial detention.
On January 9, 2022, Vafa’i Thani was sentenced to death by Judge Mansouri in Branch 4 of the Mashhad Revolutionary Court on charges of supporting the opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
He was charged with “corruption on earth” through “arson and the deliberate destruction of government buildings,” including the Ta’zirat (judicial supervision) office.
In December 2022, his death sentence was overturned by Branch 9 of the Supreme Court, and the case was sent to a parallel court for retrial. However, on July 19, 2023, a prison overseer informed Vafa’i Thani that his death sentence had been reinstated. Shortly after, he was taken from his ward to an undisclosed location.
On July 24, 2023, the Second Branch of the Mashhad Revolutionary Court once again sentenced him to death. Subsequently, on September 19, 2024, the Revolutionary Court issued his death sentence for the third time and officially notified him.
Calls for International Attention
The cases of Abbas Deris and Mohammad Javad Vafa’i Thani have sparked significant concern among human rights advocates, who argue that the use of torture and forced confessions as evidence in capital punishment cases constitutes a severe violation of human rights. The repeated issuance of death sentences for these prisoners highlights the urgent need for international pressure on Iranian authorities to halt these executions.
Amnesty International Urgent Action for Abbas Deris
Amnesty International Story on X – Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani
