Iran sentences mentally ill protestor to death for burning Quran

An Iranian court has sentenced a mentally ill protestor, Javad Rouhi, to death for allegedly burning the Holy Quran in the early days of protests that broke out in September following the death of a 22-year-old lady, Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody after she was arrested for not wearing her hijab properly.

According to human rights activists, Rouhi who is from northern Iran, was arrested after he allegedly burnt the Quran during one of the protests, which the Iranian authorities considered as a “war on God.”

Rouhi’s family has also confirmed that he suffers from a “severe mental illness” while his lawyer said that the defendant had separated from his wife because of his mental illness.

Read also:Iran executes British-Iranian, Akbari, for allegedly spying

The lawyer told journalists that the unemployed and mentally unstable man was sleeping on the streets trying to find his ex-wife in a bid to get her back days before his arrest.

Rouhi has a bachelor’s degree in law but has been unemployed for some time due to his struggles with his mental health, the lawyer said.

Human rights groups have also claimed that while in custody, the convict was tortured so severely that he was unable to speak or walk.

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