According to Iran International, Mehdi Bahman is an Iranian writer, painter, and artist who has advocated for religious tolerance. The Irani illustrator is a religious proximity researcher who has drawn Torah, Psalms, and Bible literature.
Bahman has been illuminating religious texts for the goal of peaceful coexistence amongst faiths for over 20 years, and two illuminated copies of the Book of Psalms and Ezra are housed at the Library of the United States Congress.
In recent years, Mehdi has collaborated with dissident Shia cleric Masoumi Tehrani to make artworks incorporating religious motifs. He had also handed them to leaders of Iran’s minority Jewish, Christian, Zoroastrian, Sunni Islam, Mandaean Sabian, and Baha’i religions as presents. According to one of his books, which has been translated into Hebrew, the Iranian people have no issue with Israel and Jews all over the globe and desire to normalize ties between Iran and Israel.
What Happened to Mehdi Bahman?
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According to Iran International, Mehdi was detained on October 12 during an interview with Israeli TV Channel 13. On October 13, 2022, security authorities detained writer and painter Mehdi Bahman at his home in Tehran and imprisoned him in Evin Prison’s Ward 209.
While being detained after the beginning of demonstrations, the author gave an interview to Channel 13. In April 2022, he contacted an Israeli lady and asked her to read his Hebrew-translated novels. Mehamn lambasted the Iranian dictatorship and the imposition of Islamic law in the interview, and he urged for rapprochement between Israel and Iran. The Israeli cartoonist told Channel 13 that he was not concerned about getting imprisoned for speaking to an Israeli television station.
Why Was An Iranian Illustrator Executed?
According to the Times of Israel, an Iranian novelist stated he was condemned to death after promoting peace in an interview with Channel 13 Isareli TV.There was no formal confirmation of the sentencing from Iranian authorities or state media.
Iran says that Iran International, a Persian-language satellite news program once owned mostly by a Saudi man, is to blame for recent statewide protests that became violent and fatal. Iran International, on the other hand, promotes itself as a “independent news organization providing uncensored, accurate, and unbiased news to a Farsi-speaking audience within and outside Iran.”
Protests have erupted in Iran after Iranian-Kurdish Mahsa Amini, 22, was detained in Tehran on September 16 for allegedly breaching the country’s stringent dress code for women and died in custody.
What Are Mehdi Bahman’s Charges?
Authorities condemned a dissident novelist to death on “espionage” charges after he gave an interview to an Israeli television station earlier this year, according to opposition-affiliated media on December 29, 2022. According to reports, the Revolutionary Court handed out a sentence. According to opposition organisations, at least 11 individuals have recently been condemned to death for their roles in demonstrations, and more than 100 face the death penalty.
Earlier this week, the Oslo-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) revealed that at least 100 Iranians jailed over more than 100 days of countrywide rallies face death penalties. Furthermore, five of the inmates on the IHR list are female, and according to his report, many of them have restricted access to legal counsel.
Human Rights released an updated death toll on Tuesday, revealing that 476 demonstrators had been slain. Early in December, Iran’s primary security body issued a list of more than 200 demonstrators, including security officers, who had been killed. According to UN assessments, at least 14,000 demonstrators have been detained since the statewide unrest started.
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