Amnesty International, July 5, 2017
Iranian spiritual teacher Mohammad Ali Taheri is awaiting his second hearing due to take place in July. The authorities are prosecuting him for “spreading corruption on earth”. He has been held in solitary confinement for over six years in Tehran’s Evin prison. If convicted, he can be sentenced to death.
Prisoner of conscience Mohammad Ali Taheri is accused of “spreading corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel arz) through the establishment of the spiritual group Erfan-e Halgheh and its related teachings. His trial started on 6 March before Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. During the court session, the judge gave him a number of written questions and asked that he provide his responses in writing by the next court session. His lawyer expects the session to take place before the end of July. The questions related to Mohammad Ali Taheri’s writings on Erfan-e Halgheh. Prison officials have not granted his request to access copies of his past writings in order to draft his responses, without which he cannot complete the questions.
This is the third time that Mohammad Ali Taheri is standing trial on the charge of “spreading corruption on earth”. A five-year sentence was deemed complete in February 2016. But he was tried again in 2015, sentenced to death and acquitted in June 2016. Despite this he was not released and was again charged with “spreading corruption on earth” based on the same activities that had formed the basis of his 2011 conviction.
