Relatives of Slain Teenager Charged with "Propaganda"

The Iranian judiciary has filed a legal case against the father and sister of Abolfazl Adinezadeh, a teenage boy who was killed in October 2022 during a crackdown on one of Iran's nationwide protests.

Khosro Alikordi, the lawyer representing the family, said on Twitter on June 27 that Ali and Marzieh Adinezadeh were charged with "propaganda against the regime."

The case was registered at Branch 903 of the Mashhad Revolution Prosecutor's Office, he said.

The 16-year-old Abolfazl Adinezadeh was hit by 24 pellets fired by security forces on October 8, 2022, during protests outside Mashhad’s Ferdowsi University. His family has said that he died one hour after being rushed to hospital with serious injuries. 

On June 16, just a day before what would have been Abolfazl's birthday, security forces arrested his sister, father and uncle near his gravesite. Government forces also conducted a raid on the village where the Adinezadeh family resides and arrested Abolfazl’s mother, along with a few other relatives. 

The family members were granted temporary release from prison on June 20. 

Iranian authorities have unleashed a brutal crackdown on months-long nationwide demonstrations sparked by the September death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. 

More than 520 people were killed during protests and over 20,000 others were unlawfully detained, activists say. 

Following biased trials, the judiciary has handed down stiff sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters.