Manouchehr Fallah
Manouchehr Fallah, a 42-year-old father of one from Rasht and tattoo artist who was working as a labourer to make ends meet at the time of his arrest in Rasht Airport in June/July 2023. He was denied access to a lawyer of his choice.
In an interview with Emtedad, his lawyer, Milad Panahipour states that his client was a low-income labourer, and faces the death penalty for allegedly detonating a very small “sound device” at 00:30 on 1 June 2023 at the entrance to the Gilan Judiciary. An expert report valued the damage to the metal door and stone façade at 15 million tomans (330 euros). No injuries were reported and services reportedly continued the next day. He was initially summoned on bail of 200 million tomans (4,500 euros) and later charged with “propaganda against the state”, “insulting the Leader” and “destruction”. The trial court applied Article 687 of the Islamic Penal Code, which concerns damage to public-utility infrastructure causing disruption of services, to classify the act as destruction intended to disturb public order and confront the government. Manouchehr was sentenced to death on the charge of moharebeh (enmity against God) by Branch 2 of the Rasht Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Darvish Goftari which was subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court. He also received a year of imprisonment for the propaganda charges which he has already served.
Defence lawyer Milad Panahipour argues that Article 687 was misapplied, that there was no public harm and that the sentence is disproportionate. He stated: “What is attributed to my client is a very small explosion with no serious harm, at a time and place where no citizens were present,” and asked, “What harm to society justifies answering it with a human being’s execution?”
In a letter written to his daughter from prison on the eve of her 16th birthday, Manouchehr wrote: “Asal jan, they have imprisoned me for a crime I didn’t commit. I have wronged no one, stolen no wealth, taken no bread from anyone’s table. I have not stolen oil rigs, nor sat on a judge’s bench to issue unjust verdicts. My only crime has been to speak out against poverty, inequality, and injustice, because I refused to stay silent in the face of all this oppression. And yet, in this path, I have neither harmed anyone nor resorted to violence.”
Manouchehr is held in Rasht (Lakan) Central Prison.
CHARGES: Moharebeh (enmity against god) for destroying the door of the judicial building with a handmade sound bomb and propaganda against the system for wall writing.
STATUS: Sentenced to death on the charge of moharebeh by Branch 2 of the Rasht Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Mohammad Ali Darvish Goftar which was upheld by Branch 6 of the Supreme Court. His first appeal was rejected on 24 October 2025. The Supreme Court overturned his sentence on the second appeal, referring his case back to a court of equal standing for retrial on 1 February 2026.