As of now, the specifics surrounding Gerehgosha’s arrest and the allegations against him remain undisclosed. A source close to his family, in conversation with HRANA, has conveyed that his current whereabouts are unknown.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, as reported by Fars News Agency, two defendants allegedly responsible for the Shah Cheragh mosque attack has been sentenced to death.
The terrorist attack took place on October 26, 2022, at the Shah Cheragh mosque in Shiraz, resulting in the death of at least 13 people. According to Chief Justice Kazem Mousavi, the primary perpetrator was killed during the attack and out of the five defendants in this case, two have received the death penalty and will be executed publicly in the near future.
Earlier, Mousavi stated that the Tehran and Shiraz revolutionary courts have charged the five defendants, all from a neighboring country, with various offenses, including “enmity against God (Moharebeh), spreading corruption on earth, and armed rebellion (Baghi).”
Mousavi also mentioned that in a separate legal case related to this attack, additional defendants will face trial in Fars Military Court for their alleged failure and negligence in providing security.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, teacher union activist Mehdi Fathi is currently serving his sentence in Adelabad Prison, Shiraz.
An informed source close to his family told HRANA, “Fathi suffers from heart failure and high blood pressure. Yet, prison officials deny him adequate medical care and refuse to dispatch him to a medical furlough.”
“Recently, prison officials promised him a medical leave. However, at the last minute, for unknown reasons, they changed their minds. Also, Fathi’s access to call his family was restricted in recent weeks.”
In March 2022, the court sentenced him to 12 years in prison on the charges of “assembly and collusion against national security,” “propaganda against the regime,” and “insulting the former and current Supreme Leader.” He was also sentenced to a two-year exile and banned from leaving the country for two years.
This sentence was reduced to eight years on appeal. Applying Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, five years for one charge was enforceable.
On June 8, 2022, security forces arrested him to start serving his sentence in Adelabad Prison.
Fathi is a history teacher, teacher union activist, and resident of the Kordshul village, Fars Province.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Ministry of Intelligence forces arrested Mohammad Davari in Shiraz on October 2, 2019, and transferred him to the detention center known as House No. 100 at the disposal of the intelligence ministry.
Thereafter, security forces searched his house and confiscated some of his belongings including books and written notes. After successive interrogations in the detention center, on January 11, 2020, Davari was relocated to Adel-Abad Prison. From there Davari was released on bail of 1.5 billion tomans temporarily, until the end of the legal proceedings.
In April 2020, the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz, headed by judge Seyed Mahmood Sadati, sentenced Davari to seven years and six months imprisonment on a charge of “membership in one of opposition political parties” and one year in prison on a charge of “propaganda against the regime”.
This verdict was reduced to three years and nine months in prison by Branch 1 of the Court of Appeal of Fars Province. Grounded on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, a severest punishment of two years and nine months for both charges is enforceable.
On December 16, 2020, Davari appeared at the executive unit of the General Court to endure his prison sentence in Adel Abad Prison.
Davari has a graduate degree in civil engineering from Islamic Azad University and is a masters student of Political Science at Shiraz Golestan University.
He had previously faced other arrests and convictions due to his civil activities. In one case, he was arrested following the death of Hashemi Rafsanjani when he pulled down a banner bearing Rafsanjani’s photo. He was later released on bail.
On September 9 of this year, the court granted Davari release by a guarantor. Despite providing a guarantor by his family, he was not released. Instead, without informing his family and lawyer, he was secretly relocated from Adel-Abad prison to a solitary confinement cell in the detention center of the intelligence ministry where he faced news charges. Two days later, he was sent back to Adel-Abad prison. Just a few hours after his relocation, he was denied having phone calls. Nearly two months later, Davari has finally been released.
Several workers of Tehran Azadi Stadium, a group of workers of Kut Abdollah Municipality in Khuzestan, a group of Bandar Imam Petrochemical workers, a group of dismissed workers Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Agro-Industry Company, Job applicants of Karname-Sabz for the 15th consecutive day in Tehran, a group of workers in Assaluyeh, a group of medical staff from Basht city, and workers of Pars Ghodrat Company in Kangan Petroleum Refinery, all called on their demands to be addressed in protest rallies. Also, teachers and educators in at least eight provinces, including Isfahan, East Azerbaijan, Fars, Alborz, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Khuzestan, Kermanshah, and Ilam held protest rallies.
Job applicants of Karname-Sabz for a sixteenth day in a row in Tehran, a group of retirees of the Isfahan Steel Fund, and Khuzestan Steel Fund, shareholders of the Ghaem Commercial Complex in Tehran, and a group of employed and retired teachers in Mashhad called for their demands to be addressed in protest rallies.
For the 17th day in a row, a group of job applicants of Karname-Sabz, teachers in Tehran, a number of workers in Dehdasht Municipality in Kohgiluyeh, a number of workers in the Fajr Jam gas refinery, and a group of fired workers in Ahvaz Municipality called for their demands to be addressed in protest rallies.
A group of teachers and educators in the provinces of Kermanshah, Lorestan, Khorasan Razavi, Tehran, Kurdistan, and Khuzestan, a number of workers of Kut Abdollah Municipality, a group of Job applicant of Karname-Sabz teachers for the 18th consecutive day in Tehran, a number of Azovico shareholders in Tehran, villagers of Angelas in Hamadan, and a group of contract workers on the Tehran metro held rallies this Tuesday.
A group of employees of integrated banks in the cities of Tabriz and Tehran, a group of Job applicant of Karname-Sabz teachers for the 19th consecutive day in Tehran, and a group of workers of West Karun Power Generation Company protested this Wednesday.
A group of teachers and educators in the cities of Hamedan, Sari, Abadan, Zanjan, Shahroud, Mamasani, Divandere, Ardabil, Yazd, Qazvin, Kuhdasht, Kermanshah, Mashhad, Tabriz, Karaj, Arak and Qom, and a group of Job applicant of Karname-Sabz teachers for the twentieth consecutive day Tehran rallied on Thursday.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, officers reportedly searched Sarvestani and Dehghani’s homes in Shiraz and confiscated all electronic devices including phones, laptops, and books.
More than 300,000 Baha’is live in Iran, according to unofficial sources, but the Iranian constitution recognizes only Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. Because their faith is not considered legitimate by authorities, the rights of Baha’is in Iran have been systematically violated for years.
This deprivation of the freedom to practice their religion is a violation of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The United Nations covenant holds that every person has the right to freedom of religion, freedom of converting religion, as well as freedom of expression, individually or collectively; openly or secretly.
As of this writing, no information is available on the detention facility or the status of Sarvestani and Dehghani.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists (HRA), several participants, including the Afkari brothers’ mother and sister, were beaten and detained by security forces for several hours.
Narges Mohammadi, Jafar Azim Zadeh, Pouran Nazemi, Nahid Shirpisheh (Mother of Pouya Bakhtiari, who was shot killed in 2019 nationwide protests) and Sakineh Ahmadi (mother of Ebrahim Katabdar, a protester who was killed in 2019 nationwide protest) were also identified as among the arrested by Ms. Mohammadi’s husband Taghi Rahmani.
On June 12, Saeed Afkari, the brother of Vahid and Habib Afkari, released a statement on the incident.
“Officers severely beat my mother, my sister, my father, my aunts, and others. The cell phones were confiscated, my sister and one of the women were arrested,” Saeed wrote. “They were released a couple of hours later.”
