Atefeh Chaharmahalian’s Suspended Sentence Lifted on Appeal, Resulting in Imprisonment

The Tehran Court of Appeal has amended Atefeh Chaharmahalian’s initial suspended sentence, now imposing two years and eight months of imprisonment.

The original suspension for five years was revoked at the request of the Evin prosecutor’s office.
In accordance with Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, which mandates the enforcement of the harshest punishment in cases of multiple charges, Chaharmahalian will serve two years in prison.

Arrested in October 2022 amid nationwide protests, this poet and children’s rights activist was released on bail in December 2022. The Tehran Revolutionary Court had initially sentenced her to a fine and two years for “disseminating false information to disturb public opinion” and eight months for “spreading propaganda against the regime.” The original verdict, including a five-year suspension, has now been replaced.

In addition to her imprisonment, Chaharmahalian faces various restrictions, including a ban on leaving the country, limitations on using cell phones and social media, and prohibition from joining political parties or civil groups. Furthermore, she is mandated to conduct research on the topics of “physical and intellectual security, harm to peace, and the corruption and crimes of the Pahlavi regime.”

Lawyer Mohammad Seifzadeh’s One-Year Sentence Upheld on Appeal

The Tehran Court of Appeals has recently upheld the original one-year sentence against attorney Mohammad Seifzadeh. The case has been referred to the Evin Judgement Enforcement unit.

Initially, Branch 29 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Seyed Ali Mazloum, found the lawyer guilty of “propaganda against the regime and spreading falsehoods.”

Seifzadeh faces this legal action as a result of co-writing an open letter with a group of lawyers and human rights activists, expressing concern to the UN Secretary-General about the widespread crackdown on protests in 2022.

It’s worth noting that he has a history of previous arrests and convictions related to his activism.

World Day Against the Death Penalty: Annual Report on Execution in Iran 2021-2022

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)- On the World Day against the Death Penalty, the Center of Statistics of Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) has published its annual report in an effort to sensitize the public about the death penalty situation in Iran, particularly thousands of death-row convicts awaiting their looming executions.

HRA’s Statistics Center relies on the work of HRANA reporters, as well as a network of independent and verifiable sources. It also incorporates the judicial authorities’ announcements or confirmations of prisoner executions on media, and as such, is exposed to a margin of error representing efforts by the Iranian authorities to omit, conceal, or restrict the collection of such data.

Between October 10, 2021, and October 7, 2022, at least 528 convicts were executed by hanging in Iran, rising to 98% compared to the same period last year. Of these executions, one was carried out in public. Many of the defendants were denied a fair trial and due process.

Click here to download report in PDF format

HRANA obtained 439 reports regarding executions and death penalty in Iran during this period. The identified executed individuals, include 20 women and 6 juvenile offenders under the age of 18 at the time of alleged crime. Compared to the last period, the execution of female offenders has raised 55%.

According to the reports obtained by HRANA, over this period, Iranian authorities sentenced at least 89 defendants to death penalty, including at least 5 women, and 7 public executions.  Issuing death sentence decreased by 1% compared to the last year.

As the chart below shows a breakdown of executions by capital offense: 50.38% were charged with murder, 41.29% with drug and narcotic offenses, 3.03% with rape, 1.70% with non-political armed robbery/offenses classified as “corruption on earth,” and 0.38% with political or security-related offenses. Moreover, 0.38% were convicted of security charges (spying, terror, and bombing), 0.38% were convicted of armed robbery, and 2.46% of charges are unknown.

The pie chart below displays execution numbers by the province in which they took place. According to this chart, the Sistan and Baluchestan Province had the highest number of executions at 16%. Alborz (where three overcrowded prisons are located) and Fars Provinces come second and third, with 16.48% and 11.93%, respectively.

The chart below depicts the distribution of executions’ information sources. The chart indicates that 70% of HRANA-confirmed executions were not announced by the official Iranian sources. Undisclosed executions are referred to as “secret” executions.

 

The chart above shows the execution numbers by gender.

The pie chart below displays execution numbers by the prison where the executions were carried out. The Rajai-Shahr Prison officials have carried out the highest number of executions with 14.42%. Zahedan Prison ranks second with 12,33% executions.

The chart below displays percentage of executions carried out in public Vs. the number of executions that were carried out in prison. According to statistics, 0.19% of the executions in Iran were carried out in public.

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Click here to download the report in PDF format.

For further inquiries please contact Skylar Thompson, Senior Advocacy Coordinator Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) at [email protected]

Narges Mohammadi Still in Solitary Confinement One Week After Arrest

Civil activist and spokesperson of the Defenders of Human Rights Center Narges Mohammadi is still in detention in Ward 209 of Evin Prison a week after her arrest.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Mohammadi was arrested on November 16, during a ceremony honoring Ebrahim Ketabdar who was killed by security forces in Karaj during the November 2019 protests.

According to her husband, Taghi Rahmani, yesterday she was sent to Moghaddas Court to be notified of the charges against her, and then sent back to  solitary confinement.

This year, Branch 1177 of the Criminal Court in the Ghods Judicial Complex in Tehran sentenced Narges Mohammadi to 30 months in prison and 80 lashes, as well as fines. She had been charged with “propaganda against the regime through the issuance of a statement against the death penalty”, “sit-down strike at prison office”, “property destruction by breaking glass” and “libel and assault”.

According to a report published by HRANA, in an open statement, Narges Mohammadi stated of these charges that she will not, “under any circumstances”, attend any court hearing, and will refuse to accept any verdict from the judiciary courts.

From May 5, 2015, until October of last year, Narges Mohammadi was imprisoned.

In December 2019, Mohammadi and seven other political prisoners in the women’s ward of Evin Prison announced in a letter that they would go on a sit-down strike in support of bereaved families who lost loved ones in November 2019 national protests. Evin Prison officials threatened to deport her and others who participated in the strike to prisons known for their harsher conditions. Subsequently, she was punitively transferred from Evin Prison to Zanjan Prison in December 2019.

Based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code and the charges against her, the severest punishment of 10 years was enforceable, but after five years and six months in prison, Narges Mohammadi was finally released from Zanjan Prison. Mohammadi has since been denied a passport and barred from leaving the country to visit her husband and children even though her previous conviction did not mention a supplementary ban on international travel.

 

Mohammad Nourizad Released From Evin Prison; Ali Nourizad Returned to the Greater Tehran Prison at End of Leave

On Wednesday, November 17, civil activist Mohammad Nourizad was released from Evin Prison after being granted an early release order. The day before his release, his son Ali Nourizad returned to The Greater Tehran Prison at the end of his furlough.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, political prisoner Mohammad Nourizad was released from Evin Prison after obtaining an early release order. The day before, Nourizad’s lawyer, Mohammad Hossein Aghasi, tweeted that the Supervisory Judiciary of Evin Prison had informed him in a phone call that the prosecutor agreed to end the prison sentence.

It is worth mentioning that Nourizad suffers from myriad health conditions, including asthma, heart problems and unstable blood pressure. Earlier, in protest against not receiving medical treatment, during a family visitation, he wounded his face and stated, “Each day I make this wound deeper to make my death happen sooner if they want me dead.”

In an open statement from that time, UN human rights experts expressed their serious concern over his conditions in prison. “We are seriously concerned at the mistreatment of Mohammad Nourizad and his continued imprisonment for expressing his opinion,” the statement read. “Furthermore, his continued detention despite medical professionals finding he cannot stay in prison given his serious health condition, and the resulting denial of adequate medical care, may amount to torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.”

Mohammad Nourizad is a 63-year-old filmmaker, writer, director and journalist from Iran. He was considered an outspoken and religious journalist who in recent years became one of the active critics of the Islamic Republic. He has been arrested and imprisoned many times.

Mohammad’s son Ali Nourizad was arrested by security forces in Tehran in January 2020 for protesting a rally against the downing of a Ukrainian plane by the IRGC, and for expressing sympathy with the victims’ families.  He was released on bail a month later. The Tehran Revolutionary Court eventually sentenced him to 3 and a half years in prison. This sentence was upheld by the Tehran Court of Appeals. He has been serving out his sentence in Greater Tehran since October of last year.

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Prisoner of Conscience Soheil Arabi Released From Rajai Shahr Prison

On Tuesday, November 16, prisoner of conscience Soheil Arabi was released from Rajai Shahr Prison after completing his sentence and sent to Borazjan to await the court decision about his two-year exile sentence.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Soheil Arabi was sent to Borazjan City accompanied by a police guard. It is yet to be decided whether he should stay in exile in Borazjan, and if so, how long. Because Arabi’s prison term was longer than the sentence required, either the difference will be subtracted from the current exile period, or the charge will be dropped altogether.

Arabi has been imprisoned since November 7, 2013, and never been granted leave. On January 21, 2020, he was relocated from Evin Prison to the Greater Tehran Prison.

While serving out the seven and a half year sentence, Soheil Arabi was convicted on charges from two new cases. In the first case, the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced him to five years imprisonment on the charge of “blasphemy, propaganda against the regime and an offensive statement against the Supreme Leader”. For the second case, he was sentenced to two years imprisonment, two years of exile in Borazjan City, and paying a fine of 4 million tomans on a charge of “spreading lies in the purpose to disturb public opinion and propaganda against the regime”, and one year and eight months on the charge of “the destruction of public property”.

On September 18, 2020, Arabi was punitively relocated from the Greater Tehran Prison to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj. On October 20, 2020, after being held for 33 days in a solitary confinement cell, in a phone call to his family, he informed them about his relocation to the detention center at the disposal of IRGC, known as Ward 2 A of Evin Prison. On November 8, 2020, he was sent back to a solitary confinement cell in Rajai Shahr Prison. After 9 days, he was sent to the public ward of this prison.

Narges Mohammadi Arrested by Security Forces in Karaj During Ceremony Honoring Ebrahim Ketabdar

Prominent civil activist and spokesperson of the Defenders of Human Rights Center Narges Mohammadi was arrested earlier this Tuesday during a ceremony honoring Ebrahim Ketabdar, who was killed by security forces in Karaj during the November 2019 protests.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, a gathering of the victim’s family and some civil activists at Ebrahim Ketabdar’s burial place in Karaj city turned violent after the interference of security agents, and Mohammadi was subsequently arrested.

This year, Branch 1177 of the Criminal Court in the Ghods Judicial Complex in Tehran sentenced Narges Mohammadi to 30 months in prison and 80 lashes, as well as fines. She had been charged with “propaganda against the regime through the issuance of a statement against the death penalty”, “sit-down strike at prison office”, “property destruction by breaking glass” and “libel and assault”.

According to a report published by HRANA, in an open statement, Narges Mohammadi stated of these charges that she will not, “under any circumstances”, attend any court hearing, and will refuse to accept any verdict from the judiciary courts.

From May 5, 2015, until October of last year, Narges Mohammadi was imprisoned.

In December 2019, Mohammadi and seven other political prisoners in the women’s ward of Evin Prison announced in a letter that they would go on a sit-down strike in support of bereaved families who lost loved ones in November 2019 national protests. Evin Prison officials threatened to deport her and others who participated in the strike to prisons known for their harsher conditions. Subsequently, she was punitively transferred from Evin Prison to Zanjan Prison in December 2019.

Based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code and the charges against her, a severest punishment of 10 years was enforceable, but after five years and six months in prison, Narges Mohammadi was finally released from Zanjan Prison. Mohammadi has since been denied a passport and barred from leaving the country to visit her husband and children even though her previous conviction did not mention a supplementary ban on international travel.

 

 

 

Aliyeh Motallebzadeh’s Request for Release on Probation Rejected

Aliyeh Motallebzadeh’s request for release on probation was recently rejected in a written notification by the Tehran prosecutor’s office.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, the photographer and women’s rights activist is currently enduring a two-year sentence in Evin Prison in Tehran.

On November 26, 2016, Motallebzadeh was summoned to the office of the ministry of intelligence and subsequently was detained in Ward 209 of Evin Prison. On December 19, 2016, she was released on bail of 300 million tomans.

In 2017, the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced Motallebzadeh to three years in prison on charges of  “assembly and collusion to act against national security” and “propaganda against the regime”.

This verdict was upheld by Branch 36 of the court of Appeals in Tehran. In the issued lawsuit, “launching and participating in women empowerment workshop in abroad” had been invoked as an example of these charges. Grounded on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, a severest punishment of two years was enforceable for her.

On October 11, 2020, Motallebzadeh arrived at Evin prison to begin her sentence, where she has been held since.

On April 26, 2021, she was punitively deprived of making phone calls after her complaints about the practice of holding detainees in solitary confinements in the prosecutor’s office of this prison.

On July 19, 2021, after contracting COVID, she was granted furlough and went on leave until August 30.

Aliyeh Motallebzadeh is a photographer, women rights activist and a member of the One Million Signatures Campaign for Gender Equality as well as a campaign to protect acid attack victims.

 

Workers’ Rights Activists Hirad Pirbodaghi and Asal Mohammadi Arrested by Security Forces

Two workers’ rights activists were arrested by security forces on Saturday, November 6.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, on Saturday, Hirad Pirbodaghi and Asal Mohammadi were arrested yesterday after security forces searched their homes. Hirad Pirbodaghi made a phone call to his family earlier this morning and informed them that he is currently being held in the notorious Ward 209 of Evin Prison. Mohammadi’s situation and whereabouts are still unknown as of this writing.

An informed source told HRANA that security forced raided and searched their houses violently. Sunday morning, Hirad Pirbodaghi was notified about the charges against him, which include “assembly” and “collusion”.

Asal Mohammadi and Hirad Pirbodaghi have previously faced other arrests and convictions for their non-violent activism and worker’s rights advocacy.

Yesterday, before their arrest, Pirbodaghi and Mohammadi, along with seven other civil activists, filed a complaint in a judicial office against using solitary confinement as a tool of torture.

As of yet, the reason for these arrests is unknown.

 

Political Prisoner Kamran Rezaiefar Sentenced to Death by Revolutionary Court of Tehran

Recently, Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced political prisoner Kamran Rezaiefar to death. Rezaiefar’s trial began on December 28, 2020.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, political prisoner Kamran Rezaiefar has been sentenced to death on the charge of the so-called “spreading corruption on earth”. He was notified about his charges in September of this year.

In January 2020, Kamran Rezaiefar was arrested by the security forces on a charge of “association with The People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran (MEK)”. He was released on bail after enduring 77 days in solitary confinement in wards 240 and 209 of Evin Prison.

In June 2020, he was arrested again this time for a charge of “spreading corruption on earth” and transferred to Evin Prison.