Tag: Iman Afshari

Hasti Amiri Sentenced to Prison, Fine, and Additional Punishments

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Freedom of Expression, News
Evin Prison, Hasti Amiri, Iman Afshari, هستی امیری

HRANA – Hasti Amiri, a student at Allameh Tabataba’i University in Tehran, has been sentenced by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court to three years in prison, fines, and supplementary punishments.

This verdict was issued in absentia by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court and was notified to Amiri yesterday. Based on the ruling, she was sentenced to one year in prison for “propaganda against the regime,” and fined 3.3 million tomans for “appearing in public without mandatory hijab.” She was also sentenced to two years in prison and fined 50 million tomans for “spreading falsehoods with the intent to disturb public opinion.”

Judge Iman Afshari also imposed supplementary punishments, banning Amiri for two years from leaving the country and from membership in political and social groups.

On Saturday, April 26, 2025, Amiri was arrested after appearing at the Evin Courthouse and transferred to Evin Prison. She was released the following day after posting bail.

Hasti Amiri has previously been arrested and served prison time due to her activism.

New Case Filed in Prison: Mehdi Mahmoudian Summoned to Tehran Prosecutor’s Office

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Freedom of Expression, News
Greater Tehran Prison, HRANA, Iman Afshari, Mehdi Mahmoudian

HRANA – Mehdi Mahmoudian, a civil activist imprisoned in the Greater Tehran Prison, is facing a new legal case. He has been summoned to the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office in Tehran after receiving a notice to defend himself against new charges.

A recent summons, issued by Branch 5 of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of District 31 (Media and Cyber Crimes) in Tehran, was delivered to Mr. Mahmoudian’s family. He has been asked to appear and respond to the charge of “spreading false information.”

Earlier this month, following Israel’s attack on Evin Prison, Mr. Mahmoudian was transferred to Greater Tehran Prison along with several other prisoners.

On February 3, 2025, he was arrested at the Enforcement Branch and sent to prison to serve his sentence.

Previously, Mahmoudian had been tried in Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari. He was sentenced to 8 months in prison on the charge of “propaganda against the regime,” along with two-year bans on party membership, smartphone use, and foreign travel.

Commenting on his sentence, Mahmoudian had written that “all of these punishments were imposed solely because I responded to a false report by a news outlet about the ‘eradication of bedbugs in prison,’ and wrote that they are ‘addicted to lying.’”

He had also previously faced prosecution for giving an interview about the difficulties Baha’is face in burying their deceased. In May of last year, he was arrested after appearing at the Prosecutor’s Office for Culture and Media and released a day later on bail.

Supreme Court Rejects Death-Row Political Prisoner Mehdi Hasani’s Retrial Request for the Fourth Time

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Executions, News
Behrooz Ehsani, Behrouz Ehsani Eslamlou, HRANA, Iman Afshari, Mehdi Hasani

HRANA — The Supreme Court has, for the fourth time, rejected the retrial request of Mehdi Hasani, a political prisoner on death row currently held in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj.

Amin Adel Ahmadian, Hasani’s defense attorney, announced the decision in a public statement, saying: “The Supreme Court rejected the retrial request without retrieving the original case file from the lower court and likely without reviewing the legal brief I submitted. I have also not yet been granted access to examine Mr. Hasani’s case file.”

This marks the fourth rejection of a retrial request for Hasani. The third was denied in April 2025, and the second earlier that same month. The first request was dismissed on February 24, 2024, by Branch 39 of the Supreme Court.

On January 26, 2025, Mehdi Hasani and fellow death row political prisoner Behrooz Ehsani Eslamlou were transferred from Evin Prison to Ghezel Hesar under the pretense of receiving medical care. The execution of their death sentences was subsequently paused after their retrial requests were registered and initially accepted by the Supreme Court.

In September 2024, both men were tried by Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari. They were sentenced to death on charges including baghi (armed rebellion), moharebeh (waging war against God), efsad-e fel arz (corruption on earth), gathering classified information, and assembly and collusion against national security.

Alleged membership in the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) is among the central charges brought against them.

Mehdi Hasani, approximately 49 years old, is married and the father of two. He was arrested on September 9, 2022, while attempting to leave the country through Zanjan and was subsequently transferred to Evin Prison.

Appeals Court Upholds Sentences for Creators of My Favourite Cake

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Freedom of Expression, News
Behtash Sanaeeha, Iman Afshari, Maryam Moghaddam, My Favourite Cake

HRANA News Agency – The prison and financial penalties for Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghaddam, directors of the film My Favourite Cake, along with the film’s producer Gholamreza Mousavi, have been upheld in full by Branch 36 of the Tehran Appeals Court. In the initial ruling, the three were sentenced to a total of five years and four months in prison and ordered to pay monetary fines.

As per the ruling issued on May 27, 2025, the defendants were collectively sentenced to five years and four months in prison and fined 1.4 billion rials.

In the lower court ruling, issued by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghaddam were each sentenced to 14 months in prison and fined 400 million rials for “propaganda against the regime through spreading falsehoods to disturb public opinion.” Their prison terms were suspended for five years. Additionally, Sanaeeha, Moghaddam, and Mousavi were each sentenced to one year in prison—also suspended for five years—and had their equipment confiscated for “collaboration in producing obscene content.”

Separately, Judge Iman Afshari convicted all three of “screening the film without a license,” ordering them to pay 200 million rials in fines and to forfeit all related equipment.

On March 1, 2025, a hearing for the three filmmakers, along with three other defendants—two actors and a cinematographer—was held in the same court.

The indictment for the filmmakers was issued in February 2025.

Despite My Favourite Cake receiving awards at international festivals—including the Silver Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival—Sanaeeha and Moghaddam, who are also a married couple, were unable to attend due to a travel ban.

The film was produced without censorship or enforcement of the mandatory hijab for its female actors. It drew significant criticism from officials at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.

It’s worth noting that My Favourite Cake, a drama released in 2024, won the Silver Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival and attracted public attention after its online release.

Political Prisoner Sayeh Seydal Hospitalized Amid Ongoing Hunger Strike

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News, Prisoners
Evin Prison, Evin Prosecutor, Iman Afshari, Mahvash Seydal

HRANA News Agency – Mahvash (Sayeh) Seydal, a political prisoner held in Evin Prison, is now on the eighth day of her hunger and medication strike. Despite a serious decline in her health that led to her transfer to the hospital last night, she was returned to prison in poor physical condition.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, Sayeh Seydal continues her hunger and medication strike in Evin Prison for the eighth consecutive day.

On the night of June 1, Seydal was transferred from prison to a hospital due to worsening health. Medical tests revealed the presence of a hemorrhagic cyst. She refused to take prescribed medication and, despite her critical condition, was returned to prison.
Seydal began her hunger and medication strike on May 26, 2025, in protest against the lack of adequate medical care in prison.

On March 10, 2025, Seydal was formally charged in Branch 3 of the Evin Prosecutor’s Office in connection with a new case opened during her incarceration, facing accusations of property damage and disturbing public order.

She had been granted furlough on February 3, 2025. During that time, she posted on Instagram that upon reporting to Branch 1 of the Sentence Enforcement Office at Evin Prosecutor’s Office, she was physically assaulted and insulted by a security officer for refusing to wear a chador. Seydal stated that when she attempted to file a complaint, the prosecutor refused to register it.

Seydal was first arrested on October 6, 2024, by security forces and transferred to the women’s ward of Evin Prison.

Following a new conviction, her previously suspended sentence was converted into an enforceable one. She was prosecuted in Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court on charges including “spreading falsehoods” and was sentenced to two years in prison and paying a fine. One of the charges related to her reposting news about the wave of poisonings targeting schoolgirls.

In November 2023, the same court under Judge Iman Afshari had previously sentenced her to one year in prison and a fine for “spreading falsehoods with the intent to disturb public opinion,” though the prison sentence had been suspended for five years.

Seydal was initially arrested on June 21, 2023, along with several other Clubhouse activists in Tehran, reportedly due to her activity on the platform. She was released on bail from The Ministry of Intelligence’s detention facility (Ward 209 of Evin Prison) on July 23, 2023.

HRANA’s data from the past decade shows that during this ten-year period, over 2,050 political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Iran prisons have been forced to go on hunger strike in protest of various abuses—including prolonged detention, being held in legal limbo, unfair trials, poor prison conditions, and being held in solitary confinement or alongside inmates convicted of violent crimes.

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Mahvash Seydal Begins Hunger Strike in Evin Prison

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News, Prisoners
Evin Prison, HRANA, Hunger Strike, Iman Afshari, Mahvash Seydal

HRANA News Agency – Mahvash (Sayeh) Seydal, a political prisoner and holder of a PhD in international law, has gone on hunger and medication strike in protest against inadequate medical care.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, Seydal, currently held in Evin Prison, began her strike due to what she describes as the authorities’ failure to provide proper medical attention.

On March 10, 2025, Seydal was formally charged in Branch 3 of the Evin Prosecutor’s Office in connection with a new case opened during her incarceration, facing accusations of property damage and disturbing public order.

She had been granted furlough on February 3, 2025. During that time, she posted on Instagram that upon reporting to Branch 1 of the Sentence Enforcement Office at Evin Prosecutor’s Office, she was physically assaulted and insulted by a security officer for refusing to wear a chador. Seydal stated that when she attempted to file a complaint, the prosecutor refused to register it.

Seydal was first arrested on October 6, 2024, by security forces and transferred to the women’s ward of Evin Prison.

Following a new conviction, her previously suspended sentence was converted into an enforceable one. She was prosecuted in Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court on charges including “spreading falsehoods” and was sentenced to two years in prison and paying a fine. One of the charges related to her reposting news about the wave of poisonings targeting schoolgirls.

In November 2023, the same court under Judge Iman Afshari had previously sentenced her to one year in prison and a fine for “spreading falsehoods with the intent to disturb public opinion,” though the prison sentence had been suspended for five years.

Seydal was initially arrested on June 21, 2023, along with several other Clubhouse activists in Tehran, reportedly due to her activity on the platform. She was released on bail from The Ministry of Intelligence’s detention facility (Ward 209 of Evin Prison) on July 23, 2023.

HRANA’s data from the past decade shows that during this ten-year period, over 2,050 political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Iran prisons have been forced to go on hunger strike in protest of various abuses—including prolonged detention, being held in legal limbo, unfair trials, poor prison conditions, and being held in solitary confinement or alongside inmates convicted of violent crimes.

Iranian-British national Nasrin Roshan Released from Evin Prison

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News, Prisoners
Evin Prison, Iman Afshari, Nasrin Roshan, نسرین روشن

HRANA News Agency – Today, May 20, dual Iranian-British national Nasrin Roshan was conditionally released from Evin Prison.

HRANA has learned that her release took place earlier today under conditional terms from Evin Prison.

Ms. Roshan had previously been tried by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari. She was sentenced to four years in prison for “assembly and collusion” and eight months for “propaganda against the regime.” Her total sentence was later reduced to three years after she accepted the verdict.

A source earlier told HRANA that the charges against Ms. Roshan, who had lived in the UK for many years, stemmed from her participation in overseas protests related to the death of Mahsa Amini.

Ms. Roshan, aged around 62, was transferred to the women’s ward of Evin Prison on January 1, 2024, after being held in Ward 209—the Ministry of Intelligence’s detention facility—for interrogation.

Security forces arrested her on November 16, 2023, at Imam Khomeini Airport while she was attempting to leave the country.

According to HRANA’s 2024 report, Iman Afshari, the presiding judge of Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, tops the list of human rights–violating judges in Iran, having issued at least 84 verdicts that constitute clear instances of human rights violations.

Taher Haji Ghorbani Sentenced to Over 14 Years in Prison

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Freedom of Expression, News
Evin Prison, Iman Afshari, Taher Haji Ghorbani, Tehran

HRANA News Agency – Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court has sentenced Taher Haji Ghorbani, a resident of Tehran, to 14 years and 2 months in prison, a monetary fine, and additional restrictions. Judge Iman Afshari presided over the case.

According to information obtained by HRANA, the court convicted Ghorbani on the following charges:

5 years and 6 months for “assembly and collusion to commit a crime against internal and external security,”
6 years for “blasphemy,”
8 months for “propaganda against the regime,”
2 years for “spreading falsehoods,”
and imposed a fine of 500 million rials (50 million tomans).

The court also handed down supplementary punishments, barring him for two years from living in Tehran Province and adjacent regions, traveling abroad, and joining political or social groups.

Under Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, only the severest sentence—six years in prison—will be enforceable.

Authorities cited Ghorbani’s online activities as grounds for the charges. The court issued the verdict on May 2, 2025, and delivered it to him in prison. His trial had taken place earlier that month in the same court.

In February 2025, the court set bail at 3.5 billion tomans, but judicial officials refused to accept it, effectively blocking his release.

Security forces arrested Ghorbani at his Tehran residence on February 2, 2025, and transferred him to Evin Prison.

Over Three Months in Legal Limbo: Arghavan Fallahi’s Case Still Unclear

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News, Prisoners
Arghavan Fallahi, Evin Prison, Iman Afshari, ارغوان فلاحی

HRANA News Agency – Arghavan Fallahi, a Tehran resident, remains in legal limbo in Evin Prison more than three months after her arrest.

A source close to her family confirmed to HRANA: “Ms. Fallahi has been held in Evin Prison for over three months without clarity on her case. She has been under interrogation during this time, and the charges against her remain unknown. She is allowed one phone call with her family per month and has not been granted in-person visits.”

Arghavan Fallahi was arrested by security forces in late January 2025 and transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence’s detention facility, known as Ward 209 of Evin Prison.

Fallahi had previously been arrested in November 2022 alongside her father by security forces and later transferred to Evin Prison. She was sentenced by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, to two years in prison on charges of “assembly and collusion” and “propaganda against the regime.” She was released after serving her sentence.

In 2024 alone, HRANA published 938 reports of prolonged detention of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience by the Iranian regime’s security and judicial apparatus. These extended detentions are often marked by solitary confinement, withholding information from families about the detainees’ whereabouts and condition, lengthy interrogation periods, and unclear charges and judicial procedures—forming a pattern of systematic abuse and due process violations.

Report on the Latest Status of Akbar Bagheri in Ghezel Hesar Prison, Karaj

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News, Prisoners
Akbar Bagheri, Ghezel Hesar, Iman Afshari

HRANA News Agency – Akbar Bagheri, a political detainee, remains in custody at Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj more than 177 days after his arrest, with his legal status still unresolved.

Based on information received by HRANA, Mr. Bagheri has been imprisoned for nearly six months. He remains in a state of legal uncertainty at Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj. His court hearing will be held on May 13, 2025, at Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari. He is charged with “assembly and collusion to disrupt national security through cooperation with opposition groups.”

Bagheri was transferred from Evin Prison to Ghezel Hesar in mid-February 2024. He is currently held in Ward 4 of the facility.

Mr. Bagheri, who suffers from blood-related hemoglobin disorders, intestinal and liver issues, and hemorrhoids, was arrested by security forces in Tehran on November 10, 2023.

He was previously arrested in 2017 by security forces in Tehran and taken to Evin Prison. In the summer of 2018, Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Salavati, sentenced him to nine years in prison on charges of “propaganda against the regime” and “assembly and collusion.” This sentence was later upheld in the appeals court. Following the events at Evin Prison in October 2022, he was transferred along with several others to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj. He was eventually released on May 8, 2023, under a general pardon directive.