According to the BBC in Persian as well as Radio Zamaneh reporter Farzad Seifikaran, writer and illustrator Mehdi Bahman was sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court.
Details of the sentence have not yet been released. Saifikaran, a Bahman acquaintance, covered his activities for the peaceful coexistence of religions and reported on his two interviews with Israel’s Channels 12 and 13.
رشته توییت: حکم اعدام #مهدی_بهمن
امروز با خبر شدم که مهدی بهمن، به اتهام «همکاری با کشورهای بیگانه» و «جاسوسی» به اعدام محکوم شده.
مهدی ۱۹ مهر بازداشت شد، او یکی از شریف‌ترین انسان‌هایی است که در عمرم شناخته‌ام، «جاسوسی» ادعایی بیش نیست، او تنها به دلیل دغدغه‌مندی و فعالیتش در? pic.twitter.com/cMhi48oD3I— Farzad Seifikaran (@FSeifikaran) December 29, 2022
Iranian writer and artist Mehdi Bahman has been sentenced to death, sources have told @EhsanAbedi. Bahman has been reportedly accused of espionage over an interview w/ Israeli Channel 13.Bahman who was arrested in October has been promoting religious coexistence. #اعدام_نکنید https://t.co/Bo63sPiY0g
— Golnaz Esfandiari (@GEsfandiari) December 29, 2022
The writer was arrested on October 19 by government agents during a demonstration. He was transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison, located in the Evin neighborhood of Tehran. The prison has been the primary site for the housing of Iran’s political prisoners since 1972, in its special wing nicknamed “Evin University” for the high number of students and intellectuals housed there. Evin Prison is notorious for committing serious human rights abuses against inmates who are political dissidents and critics of the government. It is under the supervision of the Ministry of Information of the Islamic Republic.
According to reports, Bahman was denied the right to have an appointed lawyer during the court session. He was accused of espionage based on his interviews with Israeli media.
Bahman was interviewed by News 13 in 2021 about his decision to have his book translated into Hebrew. In September this year, he spoke to News 12 about the riots that broke out in the country and criticized the policies of the Ayatollah regime.
Bahman’s collection of short stories titled, “Bone-Burning Cold,” was published by Ronak Publishing House in India three years ago.
