Iranians protest in Tehran against the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022. AP
Iranians protest in Tehran against the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022. AP
Iranians protest in Tehran against the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022. AP
Iranians protest in Tehran against the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022. AP

Iran jails eight over officer's death during protests


Holly Johnston
  • English
  • Arabic

Iranian authorities on Wednesday handed down prison sentences to eight people for aiding two men who were executed for the death of a security forces officer during last year's protests.

The defendants were accused of helping Mohammed Mehdi Karami and Mohammed Hosseini, both of whom were executed in January after being found guilty of the murder of a member of the Basij paramilitary force, the judiciary's Mizan news agency reported.

Among those jailed were Dr Hamid Gharehasanlou, sentenced to 15 years, and his wife Farzaneh, who received a five-year term.

Two more five-year sentences were handed down, while three defendants were sentenced to 10 years and another was jailed for three years.

They were found guilty of “corruption on Earth” and “committing warfare”, vague charges often levelled against critics of Tehran who are arbitrarily detained, charged with little evidence and unable to select their own legal representation in speedy, closed-door trials.

Tehran has accused protesters of killing members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij paramilitary, both of which led the brutal suppression of the protests, leading to the deaths of more than 500 people.

Protesters and supporters of Dr and Ms Gharehasanlou had worried for months that the couple would be executed. In January, the former was sentenced to death, leading to a public outcry which saw the sentence rolled back.

Wednesday's ruling confirmed a prison sentence handed down in May.

In December, more than 3,000 doctors signed a letter calling for the couple's release, saying they had been “brutalised” in front of their daughter during a raid on their home.

The letter, shared by the Iran Human Rights organisation, said they were arrested a day after attending a memorial service for Hadis Najafi, a young woman shot dead by security forces in the city of Karaj.

It described Dr Gharehasanlou as a “compassionate physician” who builds schools in impoverished areas, while Mrs Gharehasanlou was apparently filmed delivering first aid to the Basij officer, identified as Ruhollah Ajamian, in an attempt to save his life.

Relatives said they had only encountered Mr Ajamian while returning home from the vigil.

Mr Karami and Mr Hosseini were executed in January after a revolutionary court found them guilty of murdering Mr Ajamian.

Mr Karami, a karate champion, was given only 15 minutes to plead his innocence in court.

Activists and protesters have said the murder charges were falsified in order to intimidate and silence regime critics.

On Tuesday, authorities arrested the mother, father and brother of Mr Karimi, according to local media reports. His father, who is named Mashallah, remains in custody.

The families of around 500 protesters killed by security forces are increasingly pressured into silence ahead of the first anniversary of the demonstrations, which were sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini.

Ms Amini's grave in her hometown of Saqqez continues to attract hundreds of people, her mother has said on social media.

“You have many valuable guests from each city every day,” she wrote on Instagram in June, with a photo of a young girl at Ms Amini's tombstone.

Authorities have desecrated and attempted to move her grave, her relatives have previously told The National.

Grieving loved ones of passengers killed in the Ukrainian Airlines crash of 2020 have described a similar campaign of intimidation, even preventing families from burying their own dead.

Our legal consultants

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.” 

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

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Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:

1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition

MATCH INFO

Manchester United v Everton
Where:
Old Trafford, Manchester
When: Sunday, kick-off 7pm (UAE)
How to watch: Live on BeIN Sports 11HD

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GROUPS

Group Gustavo Kuerten
Novak Djokovic (x1)
Alexander Zverev (x3)
Marin Cilic (x5)
John Isner (x8)

Group Lleyton Hewitt
Roger Federer (x2)
Kevin Anderson (x4)
Dominic Thiem (x6)
Kei Nishikori (x7)

Gertrude Bell's life in focus

A feature film

At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.

A documentary

A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.

Books, letters and archives

Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
 

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

The biog

Name: Younis Al Balooshi

Nationality: Emirati

Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn

Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design

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Company Fact Box

Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019

Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO

Based: Amman, Jordan

Sector: Education Technology

Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed

Stage: early-stage startup 

Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.

THE BIO:

Favourite holiday destination: Thailand. I go every year and I’m obsessed with the fitness camps there.

Favourite book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s an amazing story about barefoot running.

Favourite film: A League of their Own. I used to love watching it in my granny’s house when I was seven.

Personal motto: Believe it and you can achieve it.

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

The biog

Family: Parents and four sisters

Education: Bachelor’s degree in business management and marketing at American University of Sharjah

A self-confessed foodie, she enjoys trying out new cuisines, her current favourite is the poke superfood bowls

Likes reading: autobiographies and fiction

Favourite holiday destination: Italy

Posts information about challenges, events, runs in other emirates on the group's Instagram account @Anagowrunning

Has created a database of Emirati and GCC sportspeople on Instagram @abeermk, highlight: Athletes

Apart from training, also talks to women about nutrition, healthy lifestyle, diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure

Three-day coronation

Royal purification

The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.

The crown

Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.

The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.

The audience

On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.

The procession

The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.

Meet the people

On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.

The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz C200 Coupe


Price, base: Dh201,153
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 204hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 300Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km

Updated: August 23, 2023, 1:49 PM`