Reza Aria

Reza Arya, one of the defendants in the case of the killed Basij member, Rouhollah Ajamian, during the 40th-day memorial ceremony for Hadis Najafi, has been charged with "moharebeh" (waging war against God) and sentenced by Judge Asif Al-Hosseini to ten years of exile imprisonment in Kerman.

His sentence has been referred to the Supreme Court for appeal, and Reza Arya has been waiting for over two months for the Supreme Court's decision, worried about the outcome.

In any case, the attribution of the charge of moharebeh to the defendants in this case has been illegal.

According to Article 279 of the Islamic Penal Code, for the crime of "moharebeh" to be realized, the perpetrator must use a "weapon" with the "intent to create insecurity and terror" among the people. If no weapon is used or if there is no creation of insecurity and fear among the general public, this crime has not been committed.

Based on this, since the detained protesters did not use weapons, and throwing stones or inflicting injuries with fists and kicks or engaging in physical altercations with officers do not constitute the conventional use of a weapon, the attribution of the charge of moharebeh to them is completely illegal, and issuing death sentences based on it amounts to premeditated murder.

Reza Arya is 43 years old and the father of two children. He is an employee of the Metro Power Supply Company and was coerced under pressure and torture to confess to kicking the shoulder of a Basij member.