Two Union Activists’s Convictions Upheld on Appeal

The convictions of Iraj Toubaeiha (Najafabadi) and Hossein Ashrafi, two members of the Teachers’ Trade Association of Najafabad, were upheld by Branch 37 of the Isfahan Court of Appeal. In the initial court, Mr. Toubaeiha was sentenced to six years in prison, two years in exile, and a fine, while Mr. Ashrafi was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for four years.

Based on the ruling issued on June 29 by Branch 37 of the Isfahan Court of Appeal, and communicated to these union activists, Mr. Toubaeiha was sentenced to two years in prison for “insulting the Supreme Leader,” one year for “propaganda against the regime,” one year for “disrupting public order by participating in illegal gatherings,” and two years and a fine of fifteen million tomans for “spreading falsehoods.” Additionally, he was sentenced to two years in exile in a village in Nahbandan, South Khorasan province.
Mr. Ashrafi was sentenced to one year in prison for “disrupting public order by participating in illegal gatherings,” with the sentence suspended for four years.

The arrest warrant for these union activists was issued in January 2024 by the Second Branch of the Najafabad General Prosecutor’s Office.
Iraj Toubaeiha (Najafabadi), a member of the Najafabad Teachers’ Union, was detained for 35 days in the fall of 2022, for 5 days in the spring of 2023, and for 13 days in the fall of 2023. He had previously been arrested and faced judicial actions due to his activities.

Legal Scholar Mohsen Borhani Arrested to Start Serving His Sentence

Mohsen Borhani, a legal scholar and professor at the University of Tehran, has been arrested and transferred to prison to serve his sentence.

Ahmad Borhani, the legal scholar’s brother, announced on social media: “After many ups and downs, despite remaining issues in the case, Dr. Mohsen Borhani was arrested.”

Additionally, Mizan, the judiciary’s news agency, wrote: “Mohsen Borhani, who was previously convicted in a judicial process and whose sentence had been finalized, was summoned and sent to prison to serve the court’s legal sentence.”

So far, no information has been obtained regarding the charges against Mr. Borhani or the duration of his prison sentence.

It is worth noting that last year, like several other critical professors at various universities across the country, Borhani was suspended from the faculty and banned from teaching. To read more about the expulsion and suspension of university professors due to their opinions, check out HRANA’s latest report.

A Report on the Current Status of Zeynab Jalalian in Yazd Prison in the Seventeenth Year of Imprisonment

Zeynab Jalalian, a political prisoner, is serving her seventeenth year of a life sentence in Yazd Prison. Despite numerous physical ailments, she has been denied proper medical care and hospital transfer.

In violation of prison rules that dictate housing prisoners according to the nature of their offenses, she has been held in the same ward as those convicted of violent crimes.

Ms. Jalalian suffers from pterygium (an eye disease) as well as kidney and gastrointestinal diseases. Recently, due to pain in her right side, she was transferred to the prison infirmary. She was examined by the prison doctor, but no specialized treatment was provided. This political prisoner requires hospitalization and specialized care, yet the relevant authorities continue to prevent her transfer.

Zeynab Jalalian was arrested in 2008 and in 2009 was sentenced to death for “moharebeh” (enmity against God) due to her membership in opposition groups. Additionally, she received one year in prison for illegal exit from the country. Her death sentence was upheld by both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court but was later commuted to life imprisonment.

Ms. Jalalian has reported being subjected to various forms of torture during her detention, including flogging on the soles of her feet, punches to the stomach, head banging against the wall, and threats of sexual assault.

Her physical condition and deprivation of appropriate treatment have raised serious concerns about her health. This situation not only highlights the human rights violations against her but also reveals the alarming conditions of political prisoners in Iran.

A Prisoner Executed in Sari Prison

On Sunday, June 30, 2024, an inmate convicted of murder was executed in Sari Prison, Mazandaran Province, as reported by Iran Human Rights Organization.

The identity of this prisoner has been reported as “Habib Shojaei, approximately forty years old.”
The report states: This prisoner was arrested about three years ago on charges of murder and was sentenced to death by the judiciary.

No official sources or domestic media outlets within the country have provided coverage of these executions at the time of writing. In 2023, 66% of HRANA’s reports on executions lacked official announcements by judicial authorities and went unreported by media inside Iran, highlighting a troubling lack of transparency in due process.

In 2023, the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists in Iran registered the execution of 767 individuals. Out of these, 7 were carried out in public. Among the executed individuals whose genders were identified, 21 were female. Additionally, 2 juvenile offenders, defined as individuals under the age of 18 at the time of their alleged crimes, were also executed.

Seyed Mohammad Taghavi Detained for Over Four Months Facing Political Charges

Seyed Mohammad Taghavi, who is accused of Baghi (armed rebellion), remains in legal limbo in Evin Prison more than four months after his arrest. Since Monday, July 1st, this political detainee has been moved to solitary confinement in the Ministry of Intelligence’s detention facility, known as Ward 209 of Evin Prison, as a punitive measure ordered by Judge Iman Afshari.

A source close to his family confirmed this news to HRANA, stating: “Mr. Taghavi had previously protested against the fabricated charges against him and did not attend the court session due to the lack of a lawyer. On Monday, July 1st, he was punitively transferred to one of the solitary cells in Ward 209 of Evin Prison by the order of Judge Iman Afshari, the head of Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran.”

On February 23, 2024, security forces arrested Taghavi in Chaldoran in West Azerbaijan Province and transferred him to Maku Prison. He was then moved to Evin Prison after seven days.

Finally, on May 14th of this year, Mr. Taghavi, along with five other political detainees, was charged in a joint case by Branch 5 of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of Tehran, presided over by Investigator Alizadeh, on suspicion of membership in one of the opposition groups and accused of Baghi.

On Monday, June 24th of this year, Taghavi and other defendants in this case were summoned to Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari. However, he was not sent to court by the order of the head of Evin Prison due to his refusal to wear prison clothes at the court.

Seyed Mohammad Taghavi, 57, is a former political prisoner from the 1980s, holding a bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from Tehran University, and has a history of previous convictions and imprisonment.

Reports from the Department of Statistics and Publication of HRA in 2023 indicate a total of 193 cases in which Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, has been involved in issuing verdicts that infringe upon the human rights of defendants.

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Workers’ Rights Activist Sharifeh Mohammadi Sentenced to Death for Armed Rebellion (Baghi)

Sharifeh Mohammadi, a workers’ rights advocate, imprisoned in Lakan Prison in Rasht, has been sentenced to death by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Rasht on charges of “Baghi” (armed rebellion).

This verdict, issued by Judge Ahmad Darvish Goftar of Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Rasht, was communicated to her husband, Sirus Fathi, today, Thursday, July 4th. Ms. Mohammadi was sentenced to death on charges of “Baghi” due to her alleged membership in an opposition group.
The court session addressing Sharifeh Mohammadi’s charges was held on June 8th, covering accusations of propaganda against the regime, acting against national security, and “Baghi” through membership in an opposition group.

The Ministry of Intelligence apprehended Mohammadi at her Rasht residence on December 5, 2023. Subsequently, she was transferred from Lakan Prison to Sanandaj Prison on December 30, 2023, only to be returned to Lakan Prison later on.

A source close to the labor activist’s family previously told HRANA, “Sharifeh was a member of the Association of Labor Organizations until 2013, which has no connection to the Komala group that she is accused of being a member of, leading to the charge of ‘Baghi’.”

Ra’na Korkori Arrested by Security Forces

Ra’na Korkori (Kurkuri), the sister of Abbas (Mojahid) Korkori, a detainee of the nationwide protests sentenced to death, was arrested by security forces in Tehran today, July 4th, and transferred to an unknown location.

Negar Korkori, Ra’na’s sister, wrote in announcing this news: “This morning, my sister was arrested by security forces at her residence in Tehran and transferred to an unknown location.”

So far, the reasons for the arrest and the charges against Ms. Korkori are unknown.

Abbas (Mojahid) Korkori, one of the detainees of the 2022 nationwide protests, is imprisoned in Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz. The Supreme Court has confirmed his death sentence.

Three Inmates Executed in Tabriz Prison

On July 2, the execution of three prisoners, previously sentenced to death on separate murder charges, was carried out in Tabriz Prison, as reported by Iran Human Rights Organization.

The identities of two of these prisoners, Reza Ahmadzadeh, 47, and Bahram Moharrami, 36, both from Tabriz, have been reported.
According to this report, Ahmadzadeh was arrested three years ago on murder charges and sentenced to death. Similarly, Moharrami was arrested two years ago on charges of murdering his wife and sentenced to death.

The report also mentioned that Rokna News Agency had reported the execution of a prisoner named Mansour in Tabriz Prison the previous day for the murder of his mother-in-law, which appears to refer to the third executed individual.

In 2023, the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists in Iran registered the execution of 767 individuals. Out of these, 7 were carried out in public. Among the executed individuals whose genders were identified, 21 were female. Additionally, 2 juvenile offenders, defined as individuals under the age of 18 at the time of their alleged crimes, were also executed.

Khashayar Safidi Sentenced to One Year in Prison

Khashayar Safidi, an expelled student of the Tehran University of Art, has been sentenced to one year in prison by the Tehran Revolutionary Court.

Based on a verdict issued on July 2 by the Tehran Revolutionary Court and communicated to Mr. Safidi’s lawyer the following days, Safidi was sentenced to one year in prison on charges of “propaganda against the regime.”

The first court session regarding Mr. Safidi’s charges was held on May 27, and the second session was held on June 30. The court addressed charges of propaganda against the regime and “spreading false information about the death of Nika Shakarami, one of the victims of the 2022 nationwide protests, on social media.”

This former student of Tehran University of Art announced in a video that he had not posted anything on his personal page regarding Nika Shakarami. The charge of propaganda against the regime pertains to his three-day sit-in strike in support of Toomaj Salehi.

On May 2, 2024, Safidi was summoned to branch 3 of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office in Tehran. He was eventually released on bail after appearing at the prosecutor’s office and being informed of the charges against him.

Late last Hijri year, Safidi was expelled from the university. Previously, he had been temporarily suspended for one term by the disciplinary committee.

Khashayar Safidi, aged around 32, was a master’s student in music at Tehran University of Art.

Motahareh Goonehi Sentenced to One Year in Prison

Motahareh Goonehi, a suspended student from Tehran University of Medical Sciences, has been sentenced to one year in prison by Branch 29 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.

The verdict, issued by Judge Ali Mazloum of Branch 29 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court and communicated to this citizen, sentences Ms. Goonehi to one year of imprisonment on the charge of “propaganda activities against the regime in favor of anti-regime media.” The basis for this charge includes Ms. Gonei’s protest against the death sentence of Toomaj Salehi and other writings of hers. She has been acquitted of the charges of “insulting the Supreme Leader” and “disturbing public order.”

On May 1, Goonehiwas arrested in Tehran by IRGC Intelligence forces following a summons and was transferred to Evin Prison. Four days later, she was released from Evin Prison on bail.

Previously, Ms. Goonehiand her husband, Mahdi Hadizadeh, both students at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, were sentenced by the Central Committee of the Ministry of Health to temporary suspension from studies and transfer to Ardabil University of Medical Sciences.

Goonehi, a dentistry student and student activist, had previously been arrested by security forces in Tehran in connection with the nationwide protests of 2022.