Citizen Detained in Alborz Province for “Blasphemy in Cyberspace”

A citizen in Alborz Province was arrested by IRGC forces for what is being described as “blasphemy in cyberspace”.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Mehr, the arrested citizen has been accused of “insulting sacred things ” in their online activity.

The report does not mention the identity of the detainee.

Athena Daemi Ends Hunger Strike in Lakan Prison in Rasht

Yesterday, August 17, imprisoned civil activist Atena Daemi  ended her hunger strike in Lakan Prison in Rasht.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Ms. Daemi had been on a hunger strike since Thursday, August 12, in protest of repeated telephone cuts and prison mismanagement.

She has ended her strike following the fixation of telephone cuts, and the release of prisoners whose release was delayed for weeks.

Citizen Arrested in North Khorasan for Publishing Images in Cyberspace

A citizen was recently arrested in North Khorasan Province for publishing images that were deemed “immoral” by authorities.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Rokna News, the citizen was arrested after posting advertising images for a makeup salon online.

Yousef Shakeri, the head of FATA police in North Khorasan province, commented on the arrest.

“Following the news that immoral images were published for makeup advertisements in cyberspace,” Shakeri said, “the issue was placed on the police’s agenda and the person was identified and arrested with the coordination of a judicial official.”

The report does not mention the identity of the detainee.

Prison Sentence and Ban on Leaving the Country Upheld for Environmental Activist Samko Maroufi

The conviction of Bukan native Samko Maroufi was recently upheld by the Court of Appeals of West Azerbaijan Province.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting the Center of Democracy and Human Rights in Kurdistan, Samko Maroufi is an environmental activist and member of the Valat Environmental Association. He has previously been arrested and convicted for his activities.

In May of this year, Branch 104 of Bukan County Criminal Court sentenced Mr. Maroufi to one year in prison and a two-year ban from leaving the country on charges of propaganda against the regime.

He was arrested by security forces in Bukan on March 2021 and was released on bail on April 2021.

 

Aras Amiri Larijani Acquitted after Enduring 3 Years in Evin Prison

After serving out 3 years of a 10 year sentence in Evin Prison, Iranian cultural activist Aras Amiri Larijani was acquitted by the Supreme Court of the charges against her.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting the Emtedad, Amiri is a student at Kingston University and former employee of the British Cultural Council.

Aras Amiri has been acquitted after enduring three years of her ten-year prison sentence. Ms. Amiri had previously been sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Revolutionary Court of Tehran and the sentence was upheld by the Court of Appeals.

She was arrested by security forces in September 2018 after being summoned to the Evin Courthouse, and was transferred to the women’s ward of the prison two days later.

In May 2019, Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, headed by Abolghasem Salavati, sentenced Ms. Amiri to 10 years in prison and two years of social deprivation, including bans from work and leaving the country after serving ten years in prison.

The accusation was labeled “espionage” by a spokesman for the judiciary in the public media. This sentence was upheld by the Tehran Court of Appeals in August 2019 in absentia and without the presence of a lawyer.

A grad student in Philosophy of Art, Amiri had been in organizing joint art exhibitions and festivals between Iranian and British artists and had collaborated with the British Council.

Amiri’s family member had previously told the media that Aras Amiri’s cultural interactions were coordinated and supervised by various deputies of the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.

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Court of Appeals Sentences Keyvan Samimi to 2 Years in Prison

Iranian journalist Keyvan Samimi has been sentenced to two years in prison after a court of appeals overturned the Supreme Court’s  decision to resume Samimi’s case.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Ensaf News, Samimi is the editor of Iran-e- Farda newspaper and a member of the Iranian Writers’ Association.

Mr. Samimi had previously endured six years in prison in 2009 for questioning the 2009 presidential election, participating in protests, and writing articles critical of the Islamic Regime. He is currently being held in Evin Prison, where he has been imprisoned since his arrest on International Workers’ Day in 2019.

Samimi was sentenced by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, headed by Judge Iman Afshari, to three years in prison on charges of conspiracy to act against the security of the country. This verdict was upheld by Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals, presided over by Judge Ahmad Zargar.

Mahmoud Behzadi-Rad, Samimi’s lawyer, said that the Supreme Court accepted the resumption of Mr. Samimi’s trial, but when his case was sent to the Branch 54 of the Court of Appeals, the decision was reversed.

“The judge did not accept the opinion of the Supreme Court,” Behzadi-Rad said, “and they only reduced the three-year imprisonment sentence to two years.”

HRANA Recap: This Week’s Protests in Iran

This week, nationwide protests continued in Iran following the widespread protests in Khuzestan. A number of labor protests took place as well. According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, employees of Haft-Tappeh Agro Industry Co. continued their strike into a 5th week. Read our recap below for details, photos, and videos from the demonstrations.


Saturday, August 7

Several residents of Damash village from Amarloo district of Rudbar city, a group of workers of Sepahan Isfahan Cement Factory, medical intern students in Kermanshah, bakers in Zanjan, and several workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Agro-Industry Company for a 26th consecutive day, held rallies in which they called on their demands to be addressed.

Residents of Damash village from Amarloo district of Rudbar:

Workers of Sepahan Isfahan Cement Factory:

 

Medical intern in Kermanshah:

 

Workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Agro-Industry Company:

 

Sunday, August, 8


Several workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Agro-Industry Co. for a 27th consecutive day, a group of Caspian Financial Institution shareholders in Tehran, a group of Steel Fund retirees in Isfahan and Khuzestan, a number of medical interns for the second consecutive day in Kermanshah, workers,  personnel of Hoveyzeh Water and Sewerage in Khuzestan Province, and a group of employees of Saveh Fire Department held protest rallies on Sunday.

 

People in the city of Junqan in support of Habib Fadaei:

Workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Agro-Industry Company:

Palm farmers in Khuzestan Province:

 

Bakers in Yazd:

Wednesday, August 11

On the 30th day of their strike in Shush, several workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Agro-Industry Company protested.  In Tehran, teachers of Literacy Movement Organization of Iran protested and called on their demands be addressed.

 

Workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Agro-Industry Company:

 

Teachers of Literacy Movement Organization:

 

 

Thursday, August 12

Several workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Agro-Industry Co for the thirtieth first day of their strike in Shush protested and called on their demands be addressed.

 

Workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Agro-Industry Company:

 

Friday, August 13, 2021

Workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Agro-Industry Co went on strike for the 32 days on the row to protest the non-compliance with their demands.

Abbas Akhoundi Sentenced to 60 Lashes and 3 Months Imprisonment

The Tehran Court of Appeals sentenced Abbas Akhoondi, former Minister of Roads and Urban Development of Iran, to 60 lashes and three months suspended imprisonment.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Tasnim news agency, Branch 78 of the Tehran Court of Appeals charged Akhoondi with “publishing lies”. The sentence was issued following the complaints from Seyed Mehdi Hashemi against the former Minister.

Iran is one of the few countries that has continued to use humiliating punishments despite the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights’ explicit prohibition of the use of inhumane and degrading punishments, including the death penalty and flogging.

Atena Daemi on a Hunger Strike in Lakan Prison in Rasht in Gilan Province

On August 12, civil activist Atena Daemi went on a hunger strike in Lakan prison in Rasht in protest of repeated telephone cuts and prison mismanagement.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, it is said that the head of the prison has not been seen in the prison for about 4 weeks, and his absence has slowed down the release process of many prisoners.

According to an informed source, the frequent interruption of the prison phone raised concerns among Atena’s family members, and her parents had to travel to the Lakan Prison to visit Atena while they were infected with the coronavirus to confirm her well being.

Atena (Fatemeh) Daemi was sentenced to 14 years in prison on May 15, 2015, by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, headed by Judge Mohammad Moghiseh, on charges of conspiracy against national security, propaganda against the regime, and insulting the leadership. After the appeal and application of Article 134, 5 years of prison were enforceable to her.

In 2018, while enduring her sentence in the women’s ward of Evin Prison, she and Golrokh Ebrahimi faced a new case, they were sentenced by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran to an additional 2 years and 1 month in prison after applying Article 134.

In July 2020, Branch 24 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Judge Mohammad Reza Amouzad, sentenced Ms. Daemi to two years in prison and 74 lashes for a new lawsuit filed against her while imprisoned. The case was opened by the complaint of the Ministry of Intelligence and the IRGC against Ms. Daemi.

In March 2021, the Supreme Court overturned a request for a retrial of Atena’s lawyers. Atena Daemi and her family members have also faced numerous other security and judicial cases and pressures. In March 2021, Atena was transferred in handcuffs and shackles from Evin Prison to Lakan Prison in Rasht in Gilan Province.

This is not the young activist’s first hunger strike. Atena Daemi once went on a hunger strike in 2015, which led to health problems and removal of her gallbladder. Her previous hunger strike experience has increased her family’s concern.

Saba Kord Afshari Sent on 15 Day Leave from Qarchak Prison in Varamin

Yesterday, imprisoned civil activist Saba Kord Afshari was sent on a 15-day leave from Qarchak Prison in Varamin.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, yesterday, August 11, the activist was allowed medical leave after receiving a positive COVID test.

Saba Kord Afshari is a civil activist and prominent critic of the compulsory hijab in Iran. On September 5, 2019, Afshari  was sentenced by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by judge Iman Afshari, to 15 years imprisonment for “promoting corruption and obscenity through appearing without a headscarf in public”,  and 1 year and 6 months of imprisonment for “propaganda against the regime” and 7 years and 6 months in prison for “assembly and collusion with an intent to commit a crime against national security” to a total of 24 years in prison along with other social deprivations, from which, after applying Article 134 and adjustment of the sentences, the most severe punishment of 7 years and 6 months in prison is enforceable to her.

On May 8 of this year, 22-year-old Kord Afshari began what would be a 10 day hunger strike to protest the increasing pressure on her family and family of fellow political prisoners, and to demand the release of her mother, Raheleh Ahmadi. Upon finishing her strike, the young activist said, in a statement, “I am fully aware that human lives are of no value to the Islamic Republic, so I am ending my hunger strike, but I am still seeking to fulfill my demands.”

Despite the widespread prevalence of COVID-19 within Iran’s prison system, inmates are frequently deprived of adequate and timely medical treatment.