Mehdi Bahman Sentenced to Prison by Revolutionary Court

Mehdi Bahman, a political prisoner held in Evin Prison, has been sentenced to five years and one month in prison by Branch 54 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, Bahman’s sentence was issued following a retrial ordered by the Supreme Court.

Previously, Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court had issued the same sentence against Bahman. However, after his appeal was accepted, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling and referred the case back to Branch 54 for reconsideration.

In the initial stages of his case, Bahman faced charges of espionage. He was later acquitted of this accusation during the appeal process and ultimately sentenced to five years in prison.

Bahman was arrested on October 13, 2022, by security forces at his home and subsequently transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison, which is operated by the Ministry of Intelligence.

Mehdi Bahman is an author and illustrator known for his work in illuminating religious texts, including the Torah, Psalms, Gospel, and the Book of Ezra. His illustrated version of the Psalms is held in the Library of Congress, while his illuminated Book of Ezra is housed in Israel.

A Comprehensive Report of the First 82 days of Nationwide Protests in Iran

  HRANA – Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old young woman, was arrested by the morality police for the crime of improper hijab. Her arrest and death in detention fueled nationwide protests in Iran. Protesters came to the streets with the central slogan “Women, Life, Freedom” in protest against the performance, laws, and structure of the regime. The following 486-page report is dedicated to the statistical review, analysis, and summary of the first eighty-two days of the ongoing protests (September 17 to December 7, 2022). In this report, in addition to the geographic analysis and the presentation of maps and charts, the identity of 481 deceased, including 68 children and teenagers, an estimated of 18,242 arrested along with the identity of 3,670 arrested citizens, 605 students and 61 journalists or activists in the field of information is compiled. In addition, the report includes a complete collection of 1988 verified video reports by date and topic. The report examines protests across 1115 documented gatherings in all 31 provinces of the country, including 160 cities and 143 universities.

Summary

Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, a young 22-year-old woman from Saqqez, Kurdistan was visiting Tehran, when she was taken into custody on Tuesday, September 13, 2022, by the Morality Police officers at the Haqqani metro station in Tehran. The reason for her arrest: not properly observing the strict Islamic dress code. Mahsa/Zhina was taken to the infamous detention center of Moral Security Police known as Vozara.
Shortly after Mahsa’s arrest, she went into a coma with level three concussion, and her partially alive body was transferred to the intensive care unit of Kasra Hospital. Given the track record of the police and Guidance Patrols in mistreating the arrestees and similar previous incidents, with the believe that Mahsa was beaten during the arrest people were outraged.

Download full report in PDF format

Unpersuasive explanations given by the Central Command of the Islamic Republic Police Force (FARAJA) in defense of its actions regarding the death of Mahsa, the past performance of the police force, along with widespread dissatisfaction with the existence of a body called the Moral Security Police, fueled widespread protests in Iran.
The widespread protests sparked at the time Mahsa Amini was announced dead in front of Kasra Hospital on Argentina Street in Tehran, and then quickly spread to the streets despite the intimidating presence of Iran’s security forces. The protests intensified after Mahsa’s burial in a Saqqez cemetery. To the extent that after eighty-two days of nationwide protests between September 17, 2022, to December 7, 2022, they have spread to Iran’s all 31 provinces, 160 cities, and 143 major universities.
The protests did not stay limited to Mahsa’s death, it rather, quickly targeted the Iranian government’s political and ideological foundations. These protests were violently quashed by the anti-riot police and Iran’s militia force (Basij). teargas, pellets, and live ammunition were used in the repression of protestors. This widespread crackdown has led to the death of dozens of people and the wounding of hundreds of protestors.
Despite sever communication restrictions imposed by the Islamic Republic, this report attempts to give a clearer picture of the first 82 days of the protests between September 17, to December 7, 2022. It’s worth mentioning at the time of this report the protests are still ongoing in various forms.

Table of Contents

 

 

For further inquiries please contact Skylar Thompson, Senior Advocacy Coordinator Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) at [email protected]

Painter and Writer Mehdi Bahman Arrested

On October 13, 2022, security forces arrested writer and painter Mehdi Bahman at his house in Tehran and jailed him in Ward 209 of Evin Prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Iranian painter and writer Mehdi Bahman was arrested by security forces.

An informed source close to Bahman’s family told HRANA, “At 1 a.m., the security forces arrested him at his house for his support of the nationwide protests. In a short call to his family, he said he was held in Ward 209 of Evin Prison.”

For over 20 years, Bahman has been working on illuminating religious books for the cause of peaceful coexistence between religions. His two illuminated copies of the Book of Psalms and Ezra are held in the Library of the United States Congress.

Since the outbreak of nationwide protests, thousands of people, including journalists, teachers, students and civil rights activists, have been arrested. For more details and statistics on the nationwide protest across Iran, read HRANA’s comprehensive report here.