Abbas Deris
Abbas Deris is a 51-year-old father of three who was arrested with his younger brother Mohsen on 8 December 2019 in the aftermath of the Mahshahr canebrake crackdown during the November 2019 nationwide protests where at least 60 people were killed according to eyewitnesses and up to 100 people per other sources.
The Deris brothers’ torture-tainted confessions were aired by state media prior to any legal proceedings. Abbas Deris later stated in court that he had made self-incriminating confessions under torture and pressure in solitary confinement. In the summer of 2021, the Deris family were verbally informed that the brothers were sentenced to death prior to the commencement of any legal proceedings. Upon hearing the news, Abbas’ wife suffered a stroke and tragically passed away leaving their three children as de facto orphans. The family were pressured to obtain forgiveness from the victim’s family per qisas laws which they refused at the time, insisting on their innocence.
Charges in 1st case: Qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. As the private plaintiffs in the case, the alleged victim’s family stated that Abbas and Mohsen did not kill their son. Abbas was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment based on elme-qazi (knowledge of the judge) by Branch 3 of the Khuzestan Criminal Court in December 2023 and no longer faces the death penalty. As the victim has small children, the Deris brothers were legally required to pay diya (blood money). A copy of the family’s statement was also submitted to the Supreme Court, which was ignored.
Charges in 2nd case: Sentenced to death on the charge of moharebeh (enmity against god) by the Revolutionary Court which was upheld by the Supreme Court. After the rejection of his Article 474 appeal, his lawyers filed an Article 477 Judicial Review appeal. On 22 October 2025, his lawyer reported that Branch 1 of the Supreme Court had accepted the Judicial Review application, overturned Abbas' sentence and referred his case back to a court of equal standing for retrial.
Status: At risk in 2nd case, held in Mahshahr Prison.