Amnestyiran ‏Iran's authorities must immediately stop any plans to execute Swedish-Iranian dissident Habib Chaab (Asyoud), and quash his unjust conviction and death sentence, which was upheld by the Supreme Court, raising fears that his execution is imminent.

 Habib Chaab’s trial before Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, which convicted him of “corruption on earth” and sentenced him to death, concluded on 25 October 2022 and was grossly unfair. Following Habib Chaab’s abduction in Türkiye shortly after arriving from Sweden on 9 October 2020 and the authorities’ announcement of his detention in Iran that month, state TV aired propaganda videos showing him “confessing” to involvement in an armed attack on a military parade on 22 September 2018 in Ahwaz, Khuzestan province, in which over 20 people were killed according to Iranian state media. By airing these forced “confessions” prior to his trial, the authorities violated Habib Chaab’s right to a fair trial, including to presumption of innocence, to not self-incriminate and to remain silent. @amnesty has also consistently held that the offence of “corruption on earth” fails to meet requirements for clarity and precision needed in criminal law and breaches the principle of legality and legal certainty.

@amnesty has also documented a pattern of systematic violations of the rights to a fair trial in Iran from the time of arrest and throughout the investigation trial and appeal proceedings. Courts routinely ignore allegations of torture and other ill-treatment, without ordering an investigation, and rely on torture-tainted “confessions” to issue convictions and sentences.

@amnesty’s research also shows that Revolutionary Courts lack independence and impose harsh sentences under the influence of security and intelligence bodies and following grossly unfair trials whereby the accused are denied access to an independently chosen lawyer. This raises grave concerns that Habib Chaab has been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, including in order to force him to make “confessions”, denied access to an independent lawyer of his own choosing and contact with his family.