Iran.. Execution of a citizen for damaging the door of the Court of Justice building in Rasht

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Iranian media and human rights reports stated that the Supreme Court in Iran re-upheld the death sentence issued against prisoner Manouchehr Falah, who is detained in Lakan Prison in the city of Rasht, the capital of Gilan Province, northern Iran, and referred his file to the Criminal Judgments Implementation Unit in the city, amid fears that the sentence will be implemented, without announcing a specific date for that.

According to the Imtadad website, the ruling was upheld last week, after the Supreme Court had overturned the previous ruling after accepting the request for a retrial submitted by his lawyer, Milad Panahipour, in late 2025.

After the file was returned to the first branch of the Revolutionary Court in Rasht, a new death sentence was issued against him, which the Supreme Court re-upheld.

The case, according to published reports, dates back to the incident of damage to the door of the Justice Court building in Rasht at one o’clock in the morning in 2023, and the value of the damage was estimated at about 15 million Iranian tomans.

The second branch of the Revolutionary Court in Rasht had sentenced Falah to death on charges of “sabotage with the intention of confronting the Islamic government,” before the Supreme Court upheld the ruling for the first time.

After accepting the request for a retrial, the file was returned to a parallel court for further consideration.

Iranian opposition websites reported that objection to the ruling included the court’s reliance on Article 687 of the Iranian Penal Code, which relates to sabotage of public facilities and installations, including water, electricity, gas, and communications networks.

According to the report, the 44th Circuit of the Supreme Court, which approved the retrial, found that the front door of the Court of Justice building does not fall within the public facilities specified in that article.

However, the Revolutionary Court in Rasht issued a new death sentence after the case was returned to it.

The report added that Judge Ahmed Darwish Gaftar, who headed the first branch of the Revolutionary Court and issued the new ruling, is the father of Muhammad Ali Darwish Gaftar, the judge who issued the first death sentence in the case.

The reconfirmation of the death sentence and referral of the case to the Sentencing Unit reportedly raised concerns about its possible implementation.

Iranian sources also reported that Falah is under severe psychological pressure as a result of repeatedly issuing the death sentence, upholding it, and then overturning it.