While over the past few days several sources have published news of Mohammad Valian’s death sentence as the first case of its kind upheld by an appeals court, Valian’s family refrain from confirming the news. One of Mohammad Valian’s classmates told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that his family is under immense pressure to deny interviews with the media and human rights organizations.

According to this source, Ministry of Intelligence authorities have promised his family that if they don’t get the media involved, they would somehow secure clemency for him from the Supreme Leader. Mohammad Valian’s father refrains from giving interviews and tells people who contact him for news that they have reached a wrong number. The Ministry of Intelligence has put pressure on Valian’s father to deny the news of his death sentence already published by an Iranian news agency. Valian’s family have gone to several authorities about the verdict over the past few days. There are some distinguished religious figures among those contacted. Valian’s family hope that they would be able to change their son’s death sentence.