Additional Name(s): Mohammad Sharifi Moghadam, محمد شریفیمقدم
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: Iran
Religion or Belief: Muslim – Sufi
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: Yes
Appeal: Rejected
Sentence: 7 Years, 6 Months' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: February//2018
Date of Sentencing: August//2018
Date of Release: February/9/2023
Current Status: Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Protesting Religious Freedom Conditions Religious Association
Nature of Charges: Illegal Assembly Public Disorder Spreading Propaganda & False or Misleading Ideas, Information, or Materials Unlawful Disobedience
Mohammad Sharifi Moghaddam was imprisoned for his religious association and for protesting religious freedom conditions.
In February 2018, authorities arrested Moghaddam following a violent crackdown on people protesting the arrest of Nematollah Riahi. Riahi, a member of the Sufi Gonabadi Order, had come to Tehran earlier in February to participate in a sit-in protesting the house arrest of spiritual leader Noor Ali Tabandeh. Moghaddam was charged with "propaganda against the state" (Art. 500 IPC), "refusing police orders" (Art. 607 IPC), "assembling and colluding to act against national security" (Art. 610 IPC), and "disrupting public order" (Art. 618 IPC). Following his arrest, Moghaddam was reportedly denied access to a lawyer.
In August 2018, Moghaddam was reportedly sentenced to 12 years in prison, 74 lashes, two years in exile, two years of deprived social activities, and a two-year travel ban. Moghaddam is expected to serve seven years and six months in prison as the sentences run concurrently.
In March 2019, a Tehran appeals court reportedly upheld Moghaddam's sentence.
On February 9, 2023, Moghaddam was reportedly released from prison after receiving amnesty.
Moghaddam was reportedly denied adequate medical care and subjected to attacks, prolonged solitary confinement, and inhumane living conditions during his detention.
Moghaddam is married to FoRB prisoner Faezeh Abdipour
Related Cases: Faezeh Abdipour
"Mohammad Sharifi Moghaddam" United For Iran
USCIRF Country Update: Religious Freedom in Iran in 2022 July 2022
"Iran Appeals Court Upholds Lengthy Prison Sentences, Lashings Against 23 Dervishes" Center For Human Rights In Iran
"18 Sufis on Strike in Iran’s Great Tehran Penitentiary Issue Three Demands" Center For Human Rights In Iran
"Iran: Over 200 Dervishes Convicted" Human Rights Watch
"Mass Conviction of Sufi Protesters “Unprecedented in Iran’s Judicial History” Center For Human Rights In Iran
"Iran: Crackdown on Dervish Minority" Human Rights Watch
"Clashes Between Police and Sufis Leave Five Dead" Iran Wire
"Six People Said Killed, 300 Arrests At Sufi Protest In Iran" Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
"Clashes Highlight Tensions Between Dervishes And Iran's Establishment" Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)