HRANA – Political prisoners Akbar Daneshvar Kar, Seyed Mohammad Taghavi Sang-Dehi, Babak Alipour, Pouya Ghobadi Bistouni, Vahid Bani-Amerian, and Seyed Abolhassan Montazer have once again been sentenced to death by Judge Iman Afshari.

The initial death sentences for Daneshvar Kar, Taghavi Sang-Dehi, Alipour, Ghobadi Bistouni, Bani-Amrian, and Montazer had been issued on the charge of baghi (armed rebellion) through alleged membership in anti-government groups. These sentences were overturned by the Supreme Court in August this year, and the case was sent back for reconsideration.

In November, the six prisoners were retried in Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari. Ultimately, on Sunday, December 7, their death sentences were issued once more and formally communicated to their lawyers.

In addition to the charge of baghi, the prisoners were also sentenced to prison terms and internal exile on charges including assembly and collusion to disrupt national security, property destruction, forming unlawful groups, and illegal border crossing.

Babak Alipour was arrested by security forces in Tehran in the fall of 2023, and Vahid Bani-Amerian was arrested in December 2023. On February 23, 2024, Pouya Ghobadi and Seyed Mohammad Taghavi were arrested in Chaldoran County and transferred to Maku Prison, before being moved to Evin Prison on March 1, 2024. Akbar Daneshvar had also been previously arrested by security forces and transferred to Evin Prison. These individuals were formally charged in May 2024 in Branch 5 of the Tehran Prosecutor’s Office and were subsequently transferred to Ghezel Hesar Prison in the summer of that year.

Seyed Mohammad Taghavi, a political prisoner from the 1980s, as well as Vahid Bani-Amerian, Pouya Ghobadi, and Babak Alipour, all have prior records of arrest and imprisonment related to their activities.