In a recent verdict, the Tehran Revolutionary Court has handed down sentences to Alireza Fazeli (Farhad Omidi) and Zaman (Arash) Esmaeili, totaling 12 years and three months, coupled with four years of exile.
Presiding over Branch 26, Judge Iman Afshari ruled for a six-year sentence for Fazeli and a six-year and three-month sentence for Esmaeili. Both individuals have also been sentenced to two years of exile. They have been convicted of political charges including “assembly and collusion against national security” and “propaganda against the regime.”
Esmaeili was apprehended by security forces on September 15, 2023, and later transferred to Evin Prison after initial detention in IRGC’s facility 1-A. On the following day, Fazeli, a resident of Tehran, was arrested by security forces and confined in Evin Prison. Fazeli has a history of arrests and legal confrontations due to his activism.
Reports from the Department of Statistics and Publication of HRA in 2023 indicate a total of 193 cases in which Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, has been involved in issuing verdicts that infringe upon the human rights of defendants.