Tag: Malaysia

Christian Convert Laleh Sa’ati Receives Prison Sentence and Travel Restriction

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News, Prisoners, Religious Minorities
Christian Citizen, Christian convert, Evin Prison, Lale Sa'ati, Laleh Sa’ati, Malaysia, لاله ساعتی

Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court has sentenced Christian convert Laleh Sa’ati to two years in prison, coupled with a travel ban preventing her from leaving the country.

Presiding Judge Iman Afshari delivered the verdict to Sa’ati on March 24, citing her conviction for “actions against national security.”

According to a source close to Sa’ati’s family, she is reportedly in poor mental health, grappling with severe depression while incarcerated.

Sa’ati was arrested by security forces on February 13, 2024, and initially detained in the Women’s Ward of Evin Prison. However, she was later transferred multiple times to Ward 209 for interrogation by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence.

HRANA has received reports indicating that Sa’ati had been residing in Malaysia before her return to Iran.

Shahrooz Sokhanvari Sentenced to Death for International Human Trafficking

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Executions, News, Women
Capital Punishment, Death Penalty, Death row, Death sentence, Human trafficking, international law, Malaysia, Shahrooz Sokhanvari, Sokhanvari

Shahrooz (Alex) Sokhanvari and the second defendant in the lawsuit were sentenced to death by a branch of the Revolutionary Court on charges of ‘international human trafficking’ and ‘corruption on earth’.

According to HRANA, the news agency of human rights activists, Sokhanvari was arrested abroad last year and deported to Iran from Malaysia. He has been charged by the Iranian judiciary with trafficking women for sexual exploitation.

In this law case, the first- and second-degree defendants, both known as “Alex”, were sentenced to death and 5 other participants were sentenced to 15 years in prison. The verdict of the case is not final and can be appealed in the Supreme Court.

In recent years, several women who had been identified as his accomplices have been arrested and are being held in jail on serious charges.

Iran ranks first in the world in citizen executions per capita, according to international organizations. The Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) reported that between January 1 and December 20 of 2020, at least 236 citizens were executed.

One of these citizens was executed publicly, and two were juvenile offenders. An additional 95 citizens were sentenced to death. According to the same report, more than 72% of executions in Iran are not reported by the government or the judiciary, which human rights organizations call “secret” executions.