Actor Mohammad Sadeghi Receives Five-Year Prison Sentence

The Tehran Revolutionary Court has handed down a five-year prison sentence to Mohammad Sadeghi, a theater and television actor. This verdict has been affirmed upon appeal.

In a video message, Sadeghi conveyed to the public that he was found guilty of charges related to “inciting people to violence and engage in activities to disrupt national security.” The ruling has been upheld by Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeal.

The incident unfolded on July 16, 2023, when Sadeghi, a native of Amol, was apprehended by the Ministry of Intelligence at his residence in Tehran. After spending over a month in custody, he was released on bail on August 20.

Following his arrest, Sadeghi utilized social media to share details about the raid conducted by security forces at his residence. The Information Center of the Greater Tehran Police Command issued a statement connecting his detention to allegations of inciting violence and defaming the “guardians of order and security in society” based on a video clip published by Sadeghi.

 

Actress Masoumeh Ghasemipour Arrested

Cinema and theater actress Masoumeh Ghasemipour has been taken into custody by security forces in Amol and moved to an undisclosed facility.

According to a source close to the actress’s family, Ghasemipour, who is 46 years old, was apprehended last Sunday, September 17, and her exact whereabouts remain undisclosed, causing distress to her family.

The reasons behind Ghasemipour’s arrest and the specific allegations against her remain unknown at this time.

Imprisoned Protestor Javad Rouhi Dies in Nowshahr Prison

Javad Rouhi (Roohi), an imprisoned protester who had been sentenced to death three times, died under suspicious circumstances in Nowshahr Prison, today morning, August 31, 2023.

According to Mizan, the judiciary’s news agency, Rouhi experienced sudden convulsions for unknown reasons leading to his demise at Beheshti Hospital in Nowshahr. The judiciary has taken steps to review all available CCTV footage from the prison ward and has initiated an examination of Rouhi’s personal belongings in prison, including his notes and medications. To ascertain the cause of death, his body has been transferred to the forensic department for thorough toxicological analysis.

Majid Kaveh, Rouhi’s legal representative, has verified the news of his client’s passing. In a somber statement, he conveyed, “Regrettably, I have been informed by Rouhi’s family that he breathed his last few hours ago in Nowshahr Prison.”

Rouhi, aged 35, a resident of Amol, was arrested during the nationwide protests of 2022 in Nowshahr.

In January 2023, Rouhi was handed three death sentences on multiple charges including “spreading corruption on earth,” “enmity against God (Moharebeh)” for burning the Quran, blasphemy, arson, and destruction of property, as well as “insulting people to unrest and assembly and collusion against national security.” In February 2023, his appeal for a retrial was registered by the Supreme Court of Iran. Subsequently, the Supreme Court overturned the death sentence and handed down the case to another court branch for review.

It is worth mentioning that in recent years, numerous cases of suspicious deaths or killings of citizens in prisons and police or security detention centers have been reported. In most cases, investigations have not led to the identification of culprits or holding responsible authorities accountable.

Background on the 2022 Nationwide Protests

The arrest of Mahsa Amini by Tehran Morality Police for her improper hijab and her suspicious death on September 16 sparked protests sweeping across Iran. Protesters came to the streets with the central slogan “Women, Life, Freedom” in protest against the performance, laws and structure of the regime. During the nationwide protests, thousands of people, including journalists, artists, lawyers, teachers, students and civil rights activists, were arrested.

 

Iran Protests: Neda Faragari Jailed in Amol Prison

Neda Faragari, arrested at recent nationwide protests, is currently jailed in Amol Prison, Mazandaran Province. The Amol Revolutionary Court has sentenced her to two years in prison and paying a fine.

December 22, 2022, she was sentenced to two years in prison for “assembly and collusion against national security,” paying a fine for “propaganda against the regime,” and “insulting the Supreme Leader of Iran.”

On trial, chanting slogans such as “death to the dictator” at a commemoration ceremony on the 40th day of Ghazaleh Chalabi, one of the protestors killed by the regime forces at protests, was presented as an example of the charge of “insulting the Supreme Leader.” Faragari was arrested at the commemoration ceremony for Ghazaleh Chalabi on November 3, 2022, in Amol.

According to reports obtained by HRANA, her attendance and others at this ceremony were interpreted by the court as an act to conspire against national security (mentioned as ‘chain collusion’), pre-coordinated based on a “shared goal rather than by a leader.”

 

Nationwide Protests in Iran Continues on Day Nine

On September 25, the nationwide protests continued nine days after the death of Mahsa Amini. Demonstrations continued in at least 19 cities and universities, as the number of arrests and the individuals injured or killed increased. There were disruptions and outages in internet and phone services and social media was filtered. 

On September 24,25, 2022, despite the heavy presence of riot police and plainclothes security agents, people held demonstrations in many cities, including Shahin-Shahr, Karaj, Shiraz, Amol, Babol, Sanandaj, Tehran, Fardis, Isfahan, Tabriz, Zahedan, Fuman, Sabzevar, Qaen, Shahr-e-Rey, and Nowshahr. 

The Sharif University of Technology and the University of Tehran students held protests on campus, chanting slogans  such as “Death to the dictator”, “Jailed student should be freed”, and “We will fight, we will die, but we will take back Iran.”

The two maps below show the geographical distribution and concentrations of the protests until the seventh day of protests. 

On September 25, the Coordination Council of the Iranian Teachers Trade Association issued a statement asking teachers and students all over Iran to join the general strike.

 It is estimated that many individuals have been arrested, as 450 arrests were reported only in the city of Sari. However, HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, is still working on fact-checking and reviewing the reports independently. HRANA has identified and verified 48 individuals arrested so far.

There were also reports of several individuals killed as a result of the brutality of the security apparatus. The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported 41 deaths, of which HRANA has identified 38.

The map below shows the distribution of the death toll as of the seventh day of protests.

Below is a compilation of the videos gathered on the eighth and ninth days of protests in Iran.

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Akram Rahimi Dies of Coronary Heart Disease in Amol Prison after being Unable to Pay Required Cash Bail

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, an inmate in the women’s ward of Amol Prison died on the evening of Saturday, August 14 of coronary heart disease.

The prisoner, who has been identified by HRANA as 40-year-old Akram Rahimi, suffered from severe heart and lung disease, but was being kept in detention due to her inability to pay the required cash bail.

“Ms. Rahimi contracted Corona some time ago along with several other prisoners,” an informed source told HRANA. “After her condition worsened, she was regularly sent to the hospital, but due to lack of space, she was not accepted and received the same basic treatment services, ie serum injection in the hospital garden, and was transferred to prison again until she died two nights ago.