Tag: Iman Afshari

Court of Appeals Sentences Keyvan Samimi to 2 Years in Prison

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Freedom of Expression, News, Prisoners
Ahmad Zargar, Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, Court of appeals, Ensaf News, Iman Afshari, Iran-e-Farda, Keyvan Samimi, Samimi, Supreme Court, Tehran

Iranian journalist Keyvan Samimi has been sentenced to two years in prison after a court of appeals overturned the Supreme Court’s  decision to resume Samimi’s case.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Ensaf News, Samimi is the editor of Iran-e- Farda newspaper and a member of the Iranian Writers’ Association.

Mr. Samimi had previously endured six years in prison in 2009 for questioning the 2009 presidential election, participating in protests, and writing articles critical of the Islamic Regime. He is currently being held in Evin Prison, where he has been imprisoned since his arrest on International Workers’ Day in 2019.

Samimi was sentenced by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, headed by Judge Iman Afshari, to three years in prison on charges of conspiracy to act against the security of the country. This verdict was upheld by Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals, presided over by Judge Ahmad Zargar.

Mahmoud Behzadi-Rad, Samimi’s lawyer, said that the Supreme Court accepted the resumption of Mr. Samimi’s trial, but when his case was sent to the Branch 54 of the Court of Appeals, the decision was reversed.

“The judge did not accept the opinion of the Supreme Court,” Behzadi-Rad said, “and they only reduced the three-year imprisonment sentence to two years.”

Saba Kord Afshari Sent on 15 Day Leave from Qarchak Prison in Varamin

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Freedom of Expression, News, Prisoners, Women
Iman Afshari, Kord Afshari, Qarchak, Qarchak Prison, Raheleh Ahmadi, Saba Kord-Afshari, Varamin

Yesterday, imprisoned civil activist Saba Kord Afshari was sent on a 15-day leave from Qarchak Prison in Varamin.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, yesterday, August 11, the activist was allowed medical leave after receiving a positive COVID test.

Saba Kord Afshari is a civil activist and prominent critic of the compulsory hijab in Iran. On September 5, 2019, Afshari  was sentenced by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by judge Iman Afshari, to 15 years imprisonment for “promoting corruption and obscenity through appearing without a headscarf in public”,  and 1 year and 6 months of imprisonment for “propaganda against the regime” and 7 years and 6 months in prison for “assembly and collusion with an intent to commit a crime against national security” to a total of 24 years in prison along with other social deprivations, from which, after applying Article 134 and adjustment of the sentences, the most severe punishment of 7 years and 6 months in prison is enforceable to her.

On May 8 of this year, 22-year-old Kord Afshari began what would be a 10 day hunger strike to protest the increasing pressure on her family and family of fellow political prisoners, and to demand the release of her mother, Raheleh Ahmadi. Upon finishing her strike, the young activist said, in a statement, “I am fully aware that human lives are of no value to the Islamic Republic, so I am ending my hunger strike, but I am still seeking to fulfill my demands.”

Despite the widespread prevalence of COVID-19 within Iran’s prison system, inmates are frequently deprived of adequate and timely medical treatment.

Five Political Defendants Sentenced to a Total of 38 Years in Prison

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Prisoners
Bahareh Soleimani, Iman Afshari, Mehran Raouf, Mohammad Nejad, Nahid Taghavi, Nazanin, Revolutionary Court of Tehran, Somayeh Kargar, Tehran

Political defendants Nahid Taghavi, Somayeh Kargar, Bahareh Soleimani, Nazanin Mohammad Nejad, and Mehran Raouf were sentenced by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran to a total of 38 years in prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists,  the court hearings of these citizens, along with Ms. Elham Samimi, another defendant of this case, were held on April 28 and June 13.

Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided by Judge Iman Afshari, sentenced Nahid Taghavi and Mehran Raouf to 10 years and eight months in prison on charges of “participation in the management of an illegal group and propaganda activities against the regime”.

Somayeh Kargar and Bahareh Soleimani were sentenced to 6 years and eight months on charges of “participation in the management of an illegal group and propaganda activities against the regime”, and Nazanin Mohammad Nejad to 3 years and 4 months each on a charge of “participation in the management of an illegal group and propaganda activities against the system”. As of this writing, the status of Elham Samimi’s case is not known.

In October 2020, HRANA reported the arrest of Ms. Taghavi, Ms. Somayeh Kargar, Mr. Mehran Raouf, and Ms. Bahareh Soleimani by IRGC intelligence forces, as well as the arrests of Ms. Mohammadnejad in December and Elham Samimi in November last year. Nahid Taghavi and Mehran Raouf are still in custody.