Mohammad Qobadlou, who was handed a death sentence in 2022 for allegedly killing a police officer during the nationwide "Women, Life, Freedom" protests against the Islamic republic's leadership, has been executed despite calls by rights groups to stop the process after he was diagnosed with a mental condition.
Qobadlou, 23, was arrested during the protests that broke out after the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Tehran's morality police for an alleged head scarf violation. He was charged with murder after being accused of running over police officers, killing one and injuring five.
Prior to Qobadlou’s execution, his lawyer Amir Raisian said his client’s execution had “no legal permit” because the Supreme Court had struck down his death sentence and the case had been referred to a new jurisdiction for reevaluation due to a diagnosis from doctors that Qobadlou suffered from bipolar disorder.
"As a result of the execution of Mohammad Qobadlou's sentence, he no longer has legal [recourse] and this can undoubtedly be considered murder," Raisian said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The judiciary-run Mizan news agency rejected Raisian’s comments, saying the Supreme Court last year had issued a “stay of execution” and that medical professionals determined that Qobadlou was not suffering from mental health conditions when he committed the alleged crime.
However, a spokesman for the Supreme Court last year told Iranian state media that the court had “overturned” the death sentence after doctors determined that Qobadlou was, in fact, suffering from bipolar disorder.
Masoumeh Ahmaidi, Qobadlou’s mother, stated in a video last year that her son had discontinued his medication prior to the protests.
Hours before the execution, Amnesty International called on the Iranian authorities to stop Qobadlou's "arbitrary and unlawful execution” and highlighted his mental health condition.
The rights group insisted that the entire case against Qobadlou was “based on confessions obtained in secret and under torture.”
A flurry of reactions followed as news of Qobadlou’s imminent execution spread on social media on the evening of January 22.
Imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi called for protests while exiled opposition leader and former crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, criticized what he described as a lack of a fair trial for Qobadlou.
Several human rights groups, including the Norway-based Iran Human Rights, have noted multiple flaws in the case.
German Parliament representative Clara Buenger, who was Qobadlou’s political sponsor, and Canadian lawmaker Melissa Lantsman, among others, had demanded a stop to the execution.
Qobadlou is the ninth person to be executed in connection with the 2022 protests.