Category: News

Hamid Haj Jafar Kashani Arrested in Tehran

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Freedom of Expression, News
Enghelab street, Hamid Haj-Jafar Kashani, Tehran, حمید حاج جعفر کاشانی

HRANA News Agency – Yesterday, Sunday, April 27, Hamid Haj Jafar Kashani, a civil rights activist, was arrested by police forces after chanting protest slogans on Enghelab Street in Tehran. Authorities transferred him to an unknown location.

Police officers arrested Mr. Kashani after he chanted slogans critical of the government on Enghelab Street.
As of the time of this report, his whereabouts remain unknown.

Hamid Haj Jafar Kashani has previously faced arrest and judicial action due to his activism.

Revolutionary Court Sentences Seyed Jafar Foshtanqi to 12 Years in Prison

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Freedom of Expression, News
Sabzevar, Seyed Jafar Foshtanqi, فشتنقی

HRANA News Agency – Branch 1 of the Sabzevar Revolutionary Court has sentenced Seyed Jafar Foshtanqi, a Sabzevar resident, to 12 years in prison.

According to the verdict, Foshtanqi received:

. Five years in prison for “membership in anti-regime groups with the intent to disrupt national security,”
. Two years for “insulting the Supreme Leader and the founder of the Islamic Republic,” and
. Five additional years for “collaborating with hostile states.”

The court held his trial in absentia on April 10, 2025.

In a separate case, authorities tried Foshtanqi on April 22, 2025, at Branch 102 of the Sabzevar Criminal Court on charges of “spreading false information.” He was recently acquitted of these charges.

Security forces previously arrested Foshtanqi on February 19, 2025, after he appeared at Branch 2 of the Sabzevar Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office. Authorities released him on bail one day later after formally charging him, setting bail at one billion tomans.

Earlier, on January 15, 2025, security agents raided Foshtanqi’s home, seizing personal belongings from him and his family and summoning him for further questioning at the Sabzevar Prosecutor’s Office.

Seyed Jafar Foshtanqi, approximately 34 years old, is married and the father of seven children.

Appeals Court; 3 Christian Converts Sentenced to Over 41 Years in Prison and Other Punishments

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News, Religious Minorities
Abbas Soori, Christian converts, Mehran Shamlooei, Narges Nasri, Tehran, عباس سوری, مهران شاملویی, نرگس نصری

HRANA News Agency – Branch 36 of the Tehran Province Court of Appeals has upheld the convictions of Mehran Shamlooei, Abbas Soori, and Narges Nasri, Christian converts residing in Tehran.

On April 22, 2025, Branch 36 of the Tehran Appeals Court upheld the lower court’s ruling. In the first instance, Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court had sentenced the three to a total of 41 years and 8 months of imprisonment, 41 years of deprivation of social rights, and a total fine of 910 million tomans.

Details of individual sentences:

  • Abbas Soori received 10 years in prison for “propaganda against Islamic law,” a 15-year ban from social rights, a 330-million-toman fine, and 5 years in prison for “membership in anti-regime groups.” As additional punishment, the court banned him from leaving the country, living in Tehran Province or neighboring provinces, and joining political or social groups for two years.

  • Mehran Shamlooei received 8 years in prison for “propaganda against Islamic law,” a 250-million-toman fine, an 11-year ban from social rights, and 2 years and 8 months in prison for “membership in anti-government groups.”

  • Narges Nasri was sentenced to 10 years in prison for “propaganda against Islamic law due to extensive and impactful contact with foreign entities” (with one degree of sentence enhancement), a 15-year ban from social rights, a 330-million-toman fine, 5 years in prison for “membership in anti-government groups,” and 1 year in prison for “propaganda against the regime.” Additionally, the court banned her for two years from leaving the country, residing in Tehran Province or neighboring provinces, and joining political or social groups.

The trial for their case took place on February 13, 2025, at the mentioned court branch.

Security forces arrested Mehran Shamlooei, Abbas Soori, and Narges Nasri on November 1, 2024, for establishing a house church in Tehran. They transferred them to the Ministry of Intelligence’s detention facility, known as Ward 209 of Evin Prison. Authorities later released them from Evin on December 1, 2024, after posting bail.

Narges Nasri, aged about 38, along with Mehran Shamlooei, aged 43, and Abbas Soori, are all residents of Tehran.

Appeals Court; Physician Bayan Salehian Sentenced to Prison and Fine

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Freedom of Expression, News
Bayan Salehian, HRANA, Urmia, بیان صالحیان

HRANA News Agency – Branch 9 of the West Azerbaijan Province Court of Appeals has upheld the prison and monetary fine sentence against Bayan Salehian, a physician residing in Urmia.

A source close to her family told HRANA, “According to the verdict issued by Branch 9 of the West Azerbaijan Appeals Court and delivered to Ms. Salehian in April, she has been sentenced to five months in prison and a paying a fine for ‘spreading false information with the intent to disturb public opinion on social media.”

Earlier, in January 2025, the Shahid Beheshti Complex’s Second Criminal Court in Urmia had issued the initial verdict sentencing Ms. Salehian to prison and a fine.

In a separate part of this case, the Urmia Revolutionary Court had previously sentenced her to pay a fine for “propaganda against the regime.”

Security forces from the Intelligence Protection Unit of Urmia’s Law Enforcement Command arrested Ms. Salehian in October 2024. They released her after several hours of interrogation and confiscated her mobile phone.

Bayan Salehian, a physician based in Urmia, has a prior record of arrest and conviction.

Appeals Court; Alireza Farshi Sentenced to Prison

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Ethnic Minorities, News
Alireza Farshi, Marand, علیرضا فرشی

HRANA News Agency – Branch 36 of the Tehran Province Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of Alireza Farshi, an Azerbaijani-Turk activist, confirming the eight-month prison sentence previously issued by Branch 23 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.

According to the verdict, Mr. Farshi was convicted of “propaganda against the regime,” with his social media activity cited as evidence supporting the charge. The initial ruling was handed down in March 2025.

The appellate hearing took place on April 19, 2025. Notably, the court proceedings on March 1, 2025, were conducted in Mr. Farshi’s absence, though his legal counsel was present.

The legal proceedings against Mr. Farshi began earlier in the year. In February 2025, Branch 1 of the Prosecutor’s Office in Baharestan County issued an indictment against him. Subsequently, in April 2025, Branch 4 of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office in Marand County, acting on behalf of Baharestan authorities, conducted an interrogation session.

Alireza Farshi Yekanli, a resident of Marand County, has a history of arrests and judicial confrontations related to his activism on behalf of the Azerbaijani-Turk community.

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Two Prisoners Executed in Tabriz Prison

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Executions, News
Asghar Nouri-Nia, Jolfa, Mehran Zolfi, Tabriz, Tabriz Prison

HRANA News Agency – On April 23, 2025, two prisoners previously sentenced to death on separate drug-related charges were executed in Tabriz Prison.

Iran Human Rights have identified them as Mehran Zolfi, 27, from Tabriz, and Asghar Nouri-Nia, 35, from Jolfa.

According to the report, Zolfi had been detained for four years and Nouri-Nia for five years, both on drug-related charges. They were ultimately sentenced to death in separate cases by the Revolutionary Court.

As of the time of this report, the executions have not been officially announced by prison authorities or relevant institutions.

In 2024, the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists in Iran documented 812 cases related to the right to life, including the sentencing of 214 individuals to death and the execution of 930 individuals. Among these, 4 executions were carried out in public. Of those executed, 818 were male, 26 were female, and 5 were juvenile offenders—individuals under 18 years old at the time of their alleged crimes.

Appeals Court Upholds 11-Year Prison Sentence for Hamid Bidar

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Freedom of Expression, News
AmirKabir, Hamid Bidar, Mahmoud Momtazpour, Tehran Province Court of Appeals, حمید بیدار

HRANA News Agency – The 11-year prison sentence for Hamid Bidar, a graduate of Iran University of Science and Technology, has been fully upheld by Branch 36 of the Tehran Province Court of Appeals.

Hossein Taj, Bidar’s attorney, stated that his client received an 11-year prison sentence on charges including blasphemy, insulting the Supreme Leader, and propaganda against the regime. The initial verdict was handed down by Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court and was recently upheld in full by Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals. According to Taj, five years of the sentence are enforceable.

Hamid Bidar, a computer engineering graduate of Iran University of Science and Technology, was arrested by security forces in Tehran on September 1, 2024.

According to the AmirKabir Newsletter, his arrest was linked to his support for Mahmoud Momtazpour, a dismissed assistant professor at Amirkabir University of Technology.

Previously, in 2013, Bidar was also suspended for two semesters by the university’s disciplinary committee, with the suspension counting against his academic years.

Gelareh Abbasi Sentenced to Prison

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Freedom of Expression, News
Evin Prison, Gelareh Abbasi, Iman Afshari, گلاره عباسی

HRANA News Agency – Gelareh Abbasi, a political defendant, has been sentenced to 51 months in prison by Branch 23 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, the court sentenced Abbasi to a total of four years and three months on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security” and “propaganda against the regime.”

Abbasi was arrested on February 16, 2025, at her home in western Tehran by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and transferred to Evin Prison. She was released from Evin Prison on March 28, 2025, after posting a bail of one billion tomans.

Earlier, in a separate case, Abbasi had been sentenced by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, to two years and six months in prison for “assembly and collusion against national security.” After serving several months, she was released from Evin in February 2023.

Gelareh Abbasi, 48, is the mother of a young daughter and the head of her household.

Over Three Months in Prison: Ongoing Legal Uncertainty for Atefeh Hassani

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News, Prisoners
Atefeh Hassani, HRANA, Kachouei Prison, Karaj, Mohammad Hassani

HRANA News Agency – Atefeh Hassani, the sister of political prisoner Mohammad Hassani, has spent more than three months in a state of legal uncertainty at Kachouei Prison in Karaj, with no formal charges yet addressed in court.

A source familiar with her case told HRANA, “It has been over 110 days since Ms. Hassani was arrested. She is accused of membership in anti-regime groups, but her legal case remains unresolved and no court hearings have been scheduled.”

Ms. Hassani was arrested by security forces in January 2025 at her family’s home in Karaj. Following a period of interrogation at a security detention facility in the city, she was transferred to Kachouei Prison, where she remains in custody without due process.

Atefeh Hassani is the sister of Mohammad Hassani, a political prisoner currently held in the Central Prison of Karaj.

Summons and Arrest of a Sunni Cleric in Kermanshah

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Freedom of Expression, News, Religious Minorities
Ayat Gholami, HRANA, Kermanshah

HRANA News Agency – Yesterday, April 23, Ayat Gholami, a Sunni cleric, was arrested after being summoned to and appearing before the Special Clergy Court in Kermanshah.

According to HRANA, quoting Kurdpa, Ayat Gholami was taken into custody following his appearance at the Special Clergy Court in Kermanshah. As of now, no information has been released regarding the reasons for his arrest, his place of detention, or the charges brought against him.

Ayat Gholami is the former imam of a mosque in Kermanshah and a teacher at a religious school.