TEHRAN: A 21-year-old Iranian sentenced to death for “insulting Islam” through text messages sent on a mobile application, The Independent reported.
Sina Dehghan, who was 19 at the time of his arrest, confessed to the “crime” of “insulted the Prophet (PBUH)” of Islam on the smartphone messaging app, LINE in October 2015.
However, Center of Human rights in Iran (CHRI) claims that Dehghan was tricked into signing a confession under the belief that he would be pardon in exchange and was incarcerated at Arak Prison.
According to The Independent, informed source told CHRI:
“During his interrogation, Sina was told that if he signed a confession and repented, he would be pardoned and let go. “Unfortunately, he made a childish decision and accepted the charges. Then they sentenced him to death.”
According to Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, ‘insulting the prophet (PBUH) of Islam; a criminal charge which is punishable by death. However, if the accused admits that the insults were said out of anger or by mistake, the sentence could be reduced to 74 lashings.
Authorities told Dehghan’s family keep quiet to ensure Dehghan’s freedom.
“Security and judicial authorities promised Sina’s family that if they didn’t make any noise about his case, he would have a better chance of being freed, and that talking about it to the media would work against him,” the source told CHRI. “Unfortunately, the family believed those words and stopped sharing information about his case and discouraged others from sharing it as well.”