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Iranian blogger gets death sentence for “insulting the Prophet” on Facebook

Sep 17, 2014 6:02 pm By Robert Spencer

Soheil-ArabiWe’re much more enlightened here in the U.S. No one would get a death sentence here for “insulting the Prophet.” Oh, no. All someone who was deemed to have insulted Muhammad here would get would be charges of “hatred,” “bigotry” and “Islamophobia,” and vitriolic attacks from the mainstream media and groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center. See — we are much, much freer and more enlightened than the Iranian mullahs.

“Death Sentence for ‘Insulting the Prophet’ on Facebook,” International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, September 16, 2014:

A blogger found guilty of insulting the Prophet Mohammad in his postings on Facebook has been sentenced to death. An informed source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that the blogger, Soheil Arabi, will be able to appeal the decision until September 20, 2014.

Agents from the Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) Sarallah Base arrested Soheil Arabi, 30, and his wife in November 2013. Arabi’s wife was released a few hours later, but he was kept in solitary confinement for two months inside IRGC’s Ward 2-A at Evin Prison, before he was transferred to Evin’s General Ward 350. Branch 76 of the Tehran Criminal Court, under Judge Khorasani, found Arabi guilty of “sabb al-nabi” (insulting the Prophet), on August 30, 2014.

“The way he was arrested was illegal. It is not clear how the agents were able to enter their home at that time in the morning. All the doors were locked and family members were asleep. Agents entered his home and bedroom. He and his wife were arrested and some of their photographs and personal belongings were taken after their home was searched,” said the source.

“Soheil had eight Facebook pages under different names, and he was charged with insulting the Imams and the Prophet because of the contents of those pages. He has accepted his charges, but throughout the trial, he stated that he wrote the material without thinking and in poor psychological condition,” the source told the Campaign.

The source noted that the Tehran Penal Court issued its ruling without regard for Article 264 of the Islamic Penal Code. “Article 262 of the Islamic Penal Code states that if a person insults the Prophet of Islam, his punishment is death. But in Article 264, it explicitly says that if a suspect merely claims in court that he said the insulting words in anger, in quoting someone, or by mistake, his death sentence will be converted to 74 lashes. I would like to emphasize that if only the suspect claims this, he will not be eligible for death, and there is no need to even prove his claim,” added the source.

“Unfortunately, despite this Article and the explanations provided, the judges issued the death sentence. They didn’t even take any notice of Soheil’s statements in court in which he repeated several times that he wrote the posts under poor [psychological] conditions, and that he is remorseful. Three of the judges ruled for the death sentence, and two ruled for imprisonment,” said the source.

According to the source, Soheil Arabi has another judicial case. On September 4, 2014, Branch 15 of Tehran Revolutionary Court under Judge Salavati sentenced Arabi to the maximum punishment of three years in prison on charges of “insulting the Supreme Leader” and “propaganda against the state,” through his writings on Facebook.

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Filed Under: blasphemy, free speech, Iran Tagged With: featured


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Comments

  1. No Fear says

    Sep 17, 2014 at 6:12 pm

    Mohammed was a murderer, he encouraged rape, his gangster buddies killed hundreds of Jews, he stole his son in law’s wife……

    Is that enough insults for the Iranian Nazis?

    Do you want my address?

  2. Beagle says

    Sep 17, 2014 at 6:18 pm

    “The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam.”

    Which Iranian judge said that?

    • EUGENIA LAGOSHA says

      Sep 18, 2014 at 1:35 am

      Didn’t OBAMA say that as well?

      • Beagle says

        Sep 18, 2014 at 9:44 am

        Yeah, just noting the perfect symmetry between Obama’s words in front of the UN and Iranian and other Islamic theocrats, as many of us did the day he uttered them.

      • Kathy Brown says

        Sep 18, 2014 at 12:11 pm

        I think that’s the point.

        A dubious ‘honor’ indeed. To be confused with a Mu-Slime ‘judge’.

    • mach37 says

      Sep 18, 2014 at 5:03 am

      Exactly: that was President Obama at the UN, Sept 25, 2012. If you parse those words they sound like a call to kill those who speak badly of Muhammed.

    • Christine Godinet says

      Sep 18, 2014 at 7:35 am

      Oh yeah – that’ll be Judge Obuma.

  3. Angemon says

    Sep 17, 2014 at 6:21 pm

    A blogger found guilty of insulting the Prophet Mohammad in his postings on Facebook has been sentenced to death.

    http://libro.uca.edu/martyrs/cm2.htm

    “Perfectus, who served at the basilica of St. Aciscius just outside the city walls, was stopped one day on his way to market by a group of Muslims.(6) Seeing that he was a priest, they asked him to explain the “catholic faith” and to share with them his opinions about Christ and Muhammed. Fearing that he would only provoke his audience, Perfectus declined. But when the Muslims swore to protect him, he proceeded, in Arabic, to decry Muhammed as one of the false prophets foretold by Christ and as a moral reprobate who had seduced the wife of his kinsman.(7)

    Though angered by the harsh attack, the Muslims respected their oaths and let Perfectus go on his way. But a few days later the priest ran into some of the same group, who no longer felt constrained by their earlier promise. Seizing Perfectus, they took him before the magistrate and testified that he had disparaged the prophet. As they led Perfectus to prison to wait out the holy month of Ramadân, he repeatedly denied his guilt. Only when he realized that his fate was sealed did he repeat his denunciation of Islam. On April 18, 850, Perfectus was decapitated before the crowds that had gathered to celebrate the end of the feast.(8)”

    Isn’t it wonderful how islam and sharia changed for the best in the last 1200 years? Oh, wait…

  4. Ayatrollah says

    Sep 17, 2014 at 6:43 pm

    I wonder what NPR will say about this.

    (Crickets)

    This week they are doing a series on mosque in America. Mashallah

  5. Kathy Brown says

    Sep 17, 2014 at 6:51 pm

    Wow! ‘[He] will be able to appeal the decision until 9/20/14.’!!!!

    Now that’s what I call due process.

  6. twostellas says

    Sep 17, 2014 at 7:07 pm

    They also have on trial right now young, university age people, for making a “happy” Pharrel song tribute. People being happy and sharing joy! It’s appalling. I believe a free, liberated, Iran is the first key to a free thinking islamic world. The lever, which needs to be pulled.

  7. salamander says

    Sep 17, 2014 at 7:35 pm

    That would be me for the chop , and the fact that one of my ancestors was a Knight Templar who chopped camel jockeys up at Teba in Andalusia in 1320 would be the icing on my head

  8. mortimer says

    Sep 17, 2014 at 9:55 pm

    Soheil Arabi is another victim of the backward, SUPREMACIST, FASCIST mullahocracy!

    Most Iranians have rejected Islam, but the mullahs have them all by the throat.

    Islam is never benign.

    • Salah says

      Sep 18, 2014 at 12:25 am

      “Most Iranians have rejected Islam, but the mullahs have them all by the throat.”

      I would also add: Given the chance, (education about Islam and freedom to safely leave this satanic cult) most Muslims will reject Islam.
      Ignorance and fear are the only reasons Muslims are still Muslims (with the exception of criminals and perverts.)

      http://crossmuslims.blogspot.ca/2014/01/egyptian-muslims-tear-up-quran.html

    • gravenimage says

      Sep 18, 2014 at 12:47 pm

      Mortimer wrote:

      Most Iranians have rejected Islam, but the mullahs have them all by the throat.

      Salah wrote:

      I would also add: Given the chance, (education about Islam and freedom to safely leave this satanic cult) most Muslims will reject Islam.
      Ignorance and fear are the only reasons Muslims are still Muslims
      ………………………………

      I respect you both, Mortimer and Salah, but I see no basis for your optimistic assertions here.

      The idea that “most Iranians” have actually left Islam stains credulity—even during the “Green Revolution” of 2009 the opposition was solidly Islamic, and adherents yelled “Allahu Akbar” from the rooftops.

      As for the idea that most Muslims would leave Islam if only it were safe to do so is pretty iffy, as well.

      Were this so, there would be a flood of Muslims in the West apostatizing, since there is no Mullocracy here. Sure, a handful would be cowed by the few pious Muslims in the ‘community’ willing to enforce the death penalty for apostates—but they would be so outnumbered by the former Muslims metaphorically running for the exits that they would make little difference.

      And yet, we find that this isn’t the case at all—that support for the imposition of bloody Shari’ah law is high in the West, and that Muslims are, in fact, further Islamizing, and are more likely to take their vicious creed seriously than did their parents.

      But this, really, should come as no surprise—the larger a Muslim population grows, the more aggressive about Islam it is likely to become.

  9. G179 says

    Sep 18, 2014 at 12:05 am

    I will insult non-muslims and mock their beliefs.

    But insult my prophet once – and i will be offended beyond repair.

    I will only be satisfied with murder.

    ‘Cause i am a hypocritical muslim thug.

    • MrIpe says

      Sep 18, 2014 at 5:18 am

      Yeah, i have wondered how big contradiction can fit into a human’s head.

  10. ben t says

    Sep 18, 2014 at 7:02 am

    How many 100’s of thousands, if not millions of muslims in our own U.S share this “religion” which is supported, overwhelmingly, in virtually ALL mohammaden countries. All of islam is an affront to humanity. Pope Francis has driven me out of the Catholicism that I embraced under sainted John Paul II.

  11. Christine Godinet says

    Sep 18, 2014 at 7:34 am

    But hang on. If ISIS have nothing to do with Islam, then surely Mohammad has nothing to do with Islam – so why do they care if he insults him.
    Funny – Mohummad is mentioned only 4 times in the Koran while Jesus is mentioned over 20, and there are Muslims who state it is wrong to celebrate the birth of Mohammad because he is of very little consequence in the Koran – even he says so, but as Jesus is more important, they must celebrate His birth.
    They just can’t get it together can they.
    They are confused. Mohammad also tells them that if they are confused, they should go and read the Books written before the Koran for their answers.
    There you have it. Go read the Bible guys. There you will find your answers. Particularly in the New Testament.

  12. London Jim says

    Sep 18, 2014 at 11:04 am

    Jeez, Agemon, that tale of Perfectus was gut-wrenching. . . Makes me want to tatoo my face with ‘Sabb al-nabi . JE REGRETE RIEN’.

  13. Frank Courtney says

    Sep 18, 2014 at 11:45 am

    I just can’t find the time to insult Muhammad as often as I’d like.

    If the Iranians see my Facebook page their heads will explode.

    That Bukhari bloke must have been a greasy Islamophobic bigot for describing Muhammad’s behaviour, in his Hadith accounts, as that of a mass-murderer, plunderer, rapist, deceiver, torturer, terrorist, paedophile and off the scale narcissistic psychopath. (Ali Sina’s challenge at faithfreedom.org gives a comprehensive list with sources).

    The Islamic texts “insult” Muhammad far more effectively than I ever could, hard as I try.

  14. southeuropean says

    Sep 18, 2014 at 4:50 pm

    What a hero this young fellow is. A real Persian. I believe into the logic and the wisdom of the Persians to derogate the sharia law more then I believe into the Arabic rennaissance. It s coming my friends. The Persians will be awake soon. I would like to mention at the end the brave Persian girl Neda who died cruelly for freedom and human rights.

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