Meysam Kazemi Sentenced to 22 Months In Prison

Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Bandar Mahshahr sentenced Meysam Kazemi to 22 months in prison. From this sentence, 7 months and 2 weeks have been suspended. If upheld on appeal, grounded on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, one year and three months imprisonment is enforceable.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Kazemi, a resident of Behbahan City, was charged with “propaganda against the regime in favour of anti-regime groups and offensive statements against the Supreme Leader of Iran”.

His lawyer, Iman Soleymani, was notified of the verdict. Seven and a half months of Kazemi’s sentence is suspended. His court session was held on February 14, 2022, by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Bandar Mahshahr.

On July 26, 2020, hundreds of Behbahan’s citizens gathered at Bank-Melli Square to protest against “poor economic conditions” and “death sentences against those who were arrested during the protest of November 2019”. Many citizens were arrested for their participation in the protests, both during the events and in the period following.

During the November 2019 protest, security forces in Behbahan City used live ammunition against protestors, leading to the death of several protestors including Mehrdad Dashinia, Mahmood Dashtinia, Farzad Ansarifar, Mohammad-Hossein Ghanavati and Mohammad Hashamdar.

Three Arrested in Behbahan for Honoring 2nd Anniversary of Those Killed in November 2019 Protests

Behbahan citizens Mohsen Ghanavati, Amin Moradi, and Payam Jeyhooni were arrested by security forces.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, the first arrestee was transferred to Behbahan Prison and two others to a detention center at the disposal of the Intelligence Ministry in Ahvaz. During the arrest, security forces confiscated Mohsen Ghanavati’s cell phone, as well as his wife’s.

Mohsen Ghanavati is the brother of Mohammad-Hossein Ghanavati, who was killed in Behbahan City by regime forces during the nationwide protests of November 2019. On November 10, 2021, he was summoned to Branch 3 of the Public and Revolutionary Court in Behbahan to be indicted for charges of “offensive statements against the supreme leader of Iran and revolutionary institutions like IRGC”, “news coverage of the protests and unrest in July 2020” via his Instagram page, and “advocating anti-regime groups and calling people to assembly and protest”.

Regarding these arrests, an informed source told HRANA, “To honor the second anniversary of the victims of the 2019 protests, some citizens decided to gather at victims’ burial place. To deter this gathering, security forces either called or summoned several people and warned them about attending the gathering and threatened them not to reveal it to media.”

In August 2020, Payam Jeyhooni, 33 years old, was arrested during the protest in Behbahan City against  “the poor economic conditions” and “death sentences against those who were arrested during the protest of November 2019”. After spending a while in detention, he was released on a bail of 200 million tomans.

During the protest of November 2019 in Behbahan city, security forces used live ammunition against protestors which led to the death of several protestors including Mehrdad Dashinia, Mahmood Dashtinia, Farzad Ansarifar, Mohammad-Hossein Ghanavati and Mohammad Hashamdar.

Eight Citizens Detained in Behbahan in Khuzestan Province

At 4 am on Tuesday, August 3, Mehran Tayebi, Mohammad Tayebi, Ali Tayebi, Mohammad Shokri, Amir Reza Tayebi, Siavash Khalili, Meqdad Tayebi, and Ahmad Reza Tayebi were arrested by security forces in their homes and transferred to an unknown location.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, all were residents of the village of Greater Kurdistan in Behbahan City in Khuzestan.

During the arrest, security forces searched the homes of the citizens and confiscated their personal belongings.

It is said that these citizens were severely beaten at the time of arrest for participating in the protests in Khuzestan against the water cuts and mismanagement of the officials.

As of this writing, no information is available on the charges or where they are being held.