Tag: Kerman Province

Court of Appeals Upholds Prison Sentence for Baha’i Citizen Paridokht Shojaei

Posted on by . .
News, Religious Minorities
HRANA, Kerman Province, Paridokht Shojaei Bagheini

The Court of Appeals of Kerman Province has upheld the two-year and one-month prison sentence for Paridokht Shojaei Bagheini, a Baha’i citizen from Kerman.

The ruling, issued by Branch 7 of the Kerman Court of Appeals on September 9, confirms her sentence of two years and one month for “engaging in educational/promotional activities contrary to or disruptive of Islamic Sharia.” The verdict was delivered to Ms. Shojaei recently.

A source close to the Shojaei family confirmed the news to HRANA, stating that the Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s decision without holding a hearing. The family plans to pursue the case in the Supreme Court.

Shojaei Bagheini was arrested in July last year at the home of another Baha’i citizen in Kerman and was released on bail in early August. Her trial, along with the cases of four other Baha’i citizens, was held in Branch 1 of the Kerman Revolutionary Court.

Baha’is are subjected to violations of their religious rights, comprising 82% of reports on infringements against religious minorities, according to HRA’s 2023 annual report.

The Baha’i faith is not recognized as a legitimate religion by Iranian authorities, leading to systematic and longstanding violations of the rights of Baha’is in the country. This includes the denial of their fundamental right to practice their religion, which constitutes a clear breach of both 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.

Journalist Kimia Fathizadeh Receives Six-Month Sentence and Further Penalties

Posted on by . .
Freedom of Expression, News
Kerman Province, Kimia Fathizadeh, Sirjan

In a recent development, the Criminal Court in Sirjan, Kerman province, has imposed a six-month prison sentence and additional penalties on Kimia (Zahra) Fathizadeh, a journalist based in Tehran.

According to the verdict issued on February 21, 2024, Fathizadeh was found guilty of “disseminating false information to cause harm and disturbing public opinion.” In addition to the six-month imprisonment, she is required to pay a fine and is prohibited from engaging in journalistic activities for two years.

Confirmation of Fathizadeh’s conviction comes from a reliable source close to the journalist who disclosed to HRANA that the legal action was initiated due to a report in which Fathizadeh criticized the head of the Intelligence Protection Organization and the former prosecutor of Sirjanو, who subsequently filed a complaint against her.

It is noteworthy that Fathizadeh, 50, experienced a raid on her residence in Tehran on August 27, 2023, conducted by Cyber Police. During the operation, several of her digital devices were confiscated.

HRANA’s Daily Review of Protests in Iran

Posted on by A MN
Labor and Guilds, News
Asalem Municipality, Brick factory Jil, Kerman Province, Ministry of Education, Rafsanjan, SAIPA Company, Tabriz, Telecommunication Company

On Tuesday, August 30, 2022, at least seven protests and one labour strike took place in Iran.

A number of citizens who purchased long ago the pieces of land in the district Golestan in Tehran demonstrated before the municipality building. According to these protestors, 25 five years after purchasing, they have not received any building permits.

A group of school service workers held a protest in front of the Ministry of Education in Tehran. These protestors demand to work in the education section as the Ministry has approved and announced.

A number of employees of the Telecommunication Company held a protest against delays in payments inside the Regional manager’s office in Tabriz.

A group of workers of Brick factory Jil protested against the factory closure before the Governorate building in Karun.

A number of workers of Asalem Municipality gathered to ask for wage and insurance demands before the Municipality.

In Rafsanjan, Kerman Province, a group of citizens who have not received their purchased vehicles from SAIPA Company protested before the Justice building.

The medical staff of a hospital in Tehran protested against the non-payment of six-month salaries.

A group of service workers of Tehran Metro went on strike and marched from their workplace to the Central building of Metro Company in protest against delays in payments.

Two Inmates Executed in Kerman and Jiroft

Posted on by A MN
Executions, News
Eslamabad, Execution in Iran, Haal Vsh, Jilan Noorzehi, Jiroft Prison, Kerman Province, Yousef Sanjari

Last Thursday, June 23, 2022, an inmate convicted previously of murder was executed in Kerman Prison. One day prior, on June 22, another inmate convicted of murder was also executed in Jiroft, Kerman Province.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Haal Vsh, an Afghan national identified as Jilan Noorzehi was executed in Kerman prison.

Haal Vsh also reported the execution of Yousef Sanjari, a resident of Eslamabad, in Jiroft Prison.

Both were previously sentenced to death on the charge of murder.

None of these executions has been reported by official sources and media outlets inside Iran so far. 

The most recent report from the Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) states that between January 1 of 2021 and December 20 of 2021, at least 299 citizens, including four juvenile offenders, were executed. In addition, 85 citizens were sentenced to death in this period. 

As the report points out, Iran’s judicial authorities do not publicly announce over 88% of executions. These unreported executions are known as “secret executions” by human rights organizations.

Two Staff Members at Photography Studio Arrested in Kerman City

Posted on by A MN
Freedom of Expression, News
Abdolali Ravanbakhsh, Instagram, Kerman City, Kerman Province

Abdolali Ravanbakhsh, Deputy Commander of Police in Kerman Province, announced that two staff members at a photography studio were arrested for publishing photos and video clips on Instagram.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Rokna News Agency, police searched the studio and confiscated personal belongings such as cameras, projectors, laptops and cell phones.

“Iranian Security Police experts in charge of surveilling activities in cyberspace detected an Instagram page publishing improper photos and video clips,” Ravanbakhsh commented. “A young man who ran a photography studio where he created unlawful photos and films was arrested. A woman who was helping him create the films was also arrested.”

The Iranian Judiciary system has been criticized for its violation of citizens’ privacy rights.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Now is definitely not the time to stop reading!

More than 3,000 Nomadic Students in the Country have Dropped out of School

Posted on by .
Environment, News, Students
Access to education, Access to education in Iran, Education in Iran, Kerman, Kerman Province, Lorestan province, Nomadic Education, Seifi

According to the HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting ILNA, Seifi, the Director-General of Nomadic Education section in the Ministry of Education, announced the existence of 3,626 students who dropped out of school among students in tribes.

“The highest number of students who dropped out of school is in the provinces of West Azerbaijan with 1,061 students, Lorestan Province with 566 students, and Kerman with 265 students,” Seifi said. “Currently, more than 75,743 nomadic students are deprived of having access to Shad network to use virtual education due to lack of necessary infrastructure. During the last academic year, 72% of our nomadic schools were held in person. Provinces with better infrastructure had the highest rates of virtual classes.”

Seifi further noted, “Nomadic students of West Azerbaijan Province were left out of education due to their inability to purchase textbooks. This province has 32000 nomad students from which a large number of nomadic female students in this province did not enroll in school due to inability to purchase textbooks.”

Prisoner Released from Gallows After Forgiveness from Parents

Posted on by Editor
Executions, Freedom of Expression, Prisoners
Death Penalty, Death row, Death sentence, Jiroft, Jiroft Prison, Jiroft prison administration, Kerman, Kerman Province, Mohammad Reza Sharifi

A prisoner in the city of Jiroft in Kerman Province, who had previously been sentenced to death for the murder of his brother, was released from the gallows after his family expressed their forgiveness.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Rokna News, a prisoner in the city of Jiroft in Kerman Province was saved from execution following the pardon of his parents.

Mohammad Reza Sharifi, head of the Jiroft Prison Administration, commented on the reversal of the prisoner’s fate.

“With the efforts of the Dispute Resolution Council and the Peace and Reconciliation Committee of the prison, the family of the victim, including his parents, wife, and children, expressed their consent and forgiveness,” Sharifi added, “and the prisoner was released from execution.”

Sharifi stated that the prisoner had murdered his brother with a firearm in one of the villages of Jiroft city in September 2019 due to family disputes, and had been in Jiroft Prison for almost 2 years.

“Due to the consent of the parents, the imprisonment due to the general aspect of the crime was reduced from ten years to three years with a reduction of the sentence, and during the meeting of the prison classification council, it was agreed to employ this prisoner.”