An Iranian man who was arrested more than a month before Iran's June election has been sentenced to death after being included in a mass trial for detainees linked to the postelection protests, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports.
Ahmad Karimi was convicted of "moharebeh" -- or "war against God" -- before he was sentenced on February 11.
Fatemeh Baqcheh-Qazi, Karimi's mother, told Radio Farda that her son had accepted a job in the United States in 2008 and went to the Iraqi Kurdish region on his way to America. But he was unable to proceed and returned home to work as a carpenter.
His mother said Karimi was arrested by Intelligence Ministry officers several months after returning to Iran and forced to make a false confession.
Baqcheh-Qazi says her son is not at all politically active.
She asked, "If he was into politics, why would he work as a carpenter?" Baqcheh-Qazi said she went to the President's Office, the Office of the Supreme Leader, and the Judiciary to inquire about her son's case but has not received a reply.
Karimi's family has also written a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urging him to inquire about her son's case.
Karimi is at least the third detainee who has been put on trial with people arrested after the election even though he was detained weeks before the election.
On January 19, two men were executed after being found guilty in a trial with a group of postelection detainees despite having been arrested weeks before the election.
Ahmad Karimi was convicted of "moharebeh" -- or "war against God" -- before he was sentenced on February 11.
Fatemeh Baqcheh-Qazi, Karimi's mother, told Radio Farda that her son had accepted a job in the United States in 2008 and went to the Iraqi Kurdish region on his way to America. But he was unable to proceed and returned home to work as a carpenter.
His mother said Karimi was arrested by Intelligence Ministry officers several months after returning to Iran and forced to make a false confession.
Baqcheh-Qazi says her son is not at all politically active.
She asked, "If he was into politics, why would he work as a carpenter?" Baqcheh-Qazi said she went to the President's Office, the Office of the Supreme Leader, and the Judiciary to inquire about her son's case but has not received a reply.
Karimi's family has also written a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urging him to inquire about her son's case.
Karimi is at least the third detainee who has been put on trial with people arrested after the election even though he was detained weeks before the election.
On January 19, two men were executed after being found guilty in a trial with a group of postelection detainees despite having been arrested weeks before the election.
