Editor's note: this story was translated from the original VOA Persian article.
An Iranian news site says the regime’s Supreme Court has upheld a death sentence on a political prisoner months after granting a reprieve to the man, convicted of causing minor damage to a judiciary building.
In a Wednesday Telegram post, the Emtedad outlet run by the Union of Islamic Iran People Party said the Supreme Court upheld “in the past week” a death sentence issued by Branch 1 of the Rasht Revolutionary Court against Manouchehr Fallah several months ago. Rasht is the capital of northern Iran’s Gilan province.
The Rasht Revolutionary Court’s Branch 2 previously handed Fallah a death sentence in the same case in early 2025 and the Supreme Court upheld it. But the top court overturned that decision early this year on appeal from Fallah’s lawyer and ordered a retrial.
Fallah, who is around 42 years old, has been detained in Rasht’s Lakan Prison. Emtedad said he is enduring “very heavy psychological pressure” from having his death sentence overturned and then re-imposed.
Emtedad said Branch 2 initially sentenced Fallah to death on the charge of “destruction with the intent of confronting the Islamic government” for causing 15 million tomans in damage to the door of the Rasht judiciary building. The damage was worth about $180 at the open-market rate at the time of the sentencing.
Defense lawyer Milad Panahipour wrote on Emtedad last October that Fallah, his client, was accused of detonating a small firecracker in front of the judicial office’s entrance at 12:30am on June 1, 2023. Panahipour said the detonation caused minor damage to the building’s iron door and stone facade and hurt no one.
Emtedad said Panahipour petitioned the Supreme Court for a retrial and cited the lawyer as saying that request was granted earlier this year. The outlet said Fallah’s case was referred to Branch 1, a parallel court, for the retrial, and rights groups reported that the judge issued a new death sentence against the political prisoner in May.
The Emtedad report said Fallah’s re-confirmed death sentence has been referred to the Rasht Criminal Sentence Execution Unit for implementation.
Exiled Iranian human rights groups HRANA and Hengaw have said Fallah was denied access to legal representation during his initial proceedings and was tried by video link in December 2024.
The United States has repeatedly condemned the Islamic republic's use of the death penalty to suppress political dissent. The State Department also has emphasized the necessity of respecting defendants' rights, including access to legal representation and a fair trial.
The Treasury Department sanctioned several Iranian officials in January 2026 for their roles in suppressing protesters. In that announcement, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said his department “will use every tool to target those behind the regime's tyrannical oppression of human rights.”