Shahryar Bayat, a civil activist detained during the protests of 2022, has been sentenced by the Shahriar Revolutionary Court to death and 18 years in prison on charges of “insulting the Prophet.”
According to the Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners, Mr. Bayat, during interrogations, was accused of sharing certain images and posts on social media, which he denied, stating that he hadn’t produced any content and had no affiliation with those pages.
Shahryar Bayat was arrested by Ministry of Intelligence agents in Shahriar on October 25th, 2022. Initially he was held in Tehran’s Evin Prison before being transferred to Karaj’s Ghezel Hesar Prison.
Despite previously having his death sentence overturned due to insufficient evidence, the case was reopened following the prosecutor’s objection in Shahriar court, resulting in the issuance of the death penalty for Mr. Bayat.
Based on the verdicts issued, Branch 13 of the Criminal Court sentenced him to death on charges of “insulting the Prophet.”
Additionally, the Shahriar Revolutionary Court sentenced Mr. Bayat to 10 years for “forming a group,” 5 years for “assembly and collusion,” 2 years for “insulting the leadership and founder of the Islamic Republic,” and 1 year for “propaganda against the regime.”
It’s worth noting that Mr. Bayat’s death sentence is subject to appeal.
Civil activists and human rights advocates have deemed this verdict unfair and contrary to human rights, calling for its cancellation.