Additional Name(s): سید صدرالله فاضلی زارع
Gender: Male
Current Location: Arak Prison
Perpetrator: Iran
Religion or Belief: Unspecified
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Sentence: Death
Date of Detainment: May//2020
Date of Death: May/8/2023
Current Status: Deceased
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Blasphemy (General) Blasphemy (Religious Figures) Expression about Religion Online Activity
Nature of Charges: Blasphemy
Seyyed Sadrullah Fazeli Zare was imprisoned and executed on blasphemy-related charges.
In May 2020, authorities arrested Zare after accusing him and others of being a member of a Telegram channel entitled "Critique of Superstition and Religion." Members of the group allegedly expressed opinions insulting to religion, including the Prophet Muhammad. One member was said to have set religious books on fire. Zare was transferred to Arak Prison. He was reportedly held in solitary confinement for two months after his arrest and was denied family visits and phone calls eight months after his arrest.
In April 2021, it was reported that Branch 1 of the Arak Criminal Court had sentenced Yusef Mehrdad and another unnamed individual - later revealed as Seyyed Sadrullah Fazeli Zare - to death for "insulting Islamic sanctities" (Art. 513 IPC) and "insulting the Prophet" (Art. 262 IPC).
In May 2023, Zare was reportedly moved into solitary confinement in preparation for his imminent execution. However, following international outcry, he was moved back into the general prison population.
On May 8, 2023, Zare was executed.
Zare was reportedly the caretaker of his elderly mother.
Related Cases: Yusef Mehrdad
USCIRF Commissioners Nury Turkel and Abraham Cooper, Tweet, May 8, 2023
USCIRF Press Release: USCIRF Alarmed by Worldwide Blasphemy Enforcement May 8, 2023
"Two Prisoners of Conscience Executed in Arak Prison" Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
USCIRF Commissioners Sharon Kleinbaum and Eric Ueland, Tweet, May 4, 2023
دادبان, Tweet, May 4, 2023
"همزمان با تایید حکم اعدام در دیوان عالی کشور؛ یوسف مهراد به ۸ سال حبس محکوم شد" Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
"پرونده متهمان سب النبی و توهین به مقدسات در اراک؛ ۱۱ متهم، ۲ محکوم به اعدام و شناسایی ۶ تن" Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
"گزارش تکمیلی؛ احراز هویت دومین زندانی محکوم به اعدام با اتهام «سب النبی» در زندان اراک" Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
"Yousef Mehrdad" United for Iran
"Two Iranians given death sentences for 'insulting Prophet Muhammad'" The New Arab
"Two Iranians Handed Death Sentences For 'Insulting Prophet'" Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
"Two Iranians sentenced to death for 'Insulting Prophet'" Iran Human Rights Monitor
"زندان اراک؛ دو زندانی با اتهام «سب النبی» به اعدام محکوم شدند" Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)