A reliable source with close ties to his family notified HRANA about Aghel’s detention, which occurred following a summons. This source disclosed that Aghel is now facing charges related to “propaganda against the regime” and “membership in anti-regime groups.”
Presiding over the case, Judge Hadi Mansouri conveyed the verdict to Parvaneh’s attorney, Khosro Alikurdi. She has been charged with multiple offenses, including “assembly and collusion against national security” and “insulting the Supreme Leader of Iran.”
According to information received by HRANA from a source, Alikurdi was not permitted to attend the court session.
Parvaneh was arrested in April 2023 by agents from the IRGC Intelligence, following her visit to the burial place of Ali Mozafari, one of the protestors killed during the nationwide protests in 2022, in Quchan. After spending 12 days in a detention facility, she was transferred to Vakilabad Prison.
It is important to note that Parvaneh has a prior arrest and conviction related to her activism. In her previous encounter with the security institutions, she was detained by IRGC Intelligence forces in the winter of 2020. Subsequently, she received a five-year prison sentence and a two-year prohibition from participating in political groups. However, in February 2023, she was granted amnesty and released in accordance with a general “pardon and commutation” directive.
According to information provided by a source closely associated with her family, the court session was held on Thursday, October 5, in the absence of both Tafazoli and her legal counsel.
Previously, the Mashhad Revolutionary Court had sentenced Tafazoli to six years and six months for “forming a group to act against national security,” three years and seven months for “assembly and collusion against national security,” and eight months for “educational/promotional activities against Sharia.”
On Tuesday, November 22, 2022, intelligence agents apprehended Tafazoli, aged 45, in Mashhad. A search of her residence resulted in the confiscation of belongings belonging to both her and her son.
After multiple extensions of Tafazoli’s detention period, she was incarcerated at Vakilabad Prison on December 29, 2022.
In February, she was granted a ten-billion-toman bail. However, judicial authorities declined her release on bail, returning this heavy bail to her family.
According to the HRANA annual report, a significant portion, accounting for 64.63%, of human rights violations against religious minorities were related to the infringement of Baha’i rights.
The denial of the freedom to practice a religion constitutes a breach of 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 asserts that every individual possesses the right to religious freedom, the freedom to convert, and the freedom of expression, both individually and collectively, openly or privately.
Among these condemned individuals was Hamid-Reza Khodabandeh Farsimadan Ghashghaie, identified by the Iran Human Rights Organization.
Etemad News also reported the execution of an inmate for murder in Vakilabad Prison, Mashhad, on the same day. He was found guilty of the murder of a man six years ago in collusion with the victim’s wife, with whom he had engaged in an illicit affair.
In 2022, the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists in Iran registered 457 reports related to the death penalty. This included 92 death sentences, including the conviction of 6 people to public execution and 565 execution sentences were carried out, 2 of which have been carried out in public. Based on the announced identifications of some of the executed individuals, 501 were male and 11 were female. In addition, 5 juvenile offenders were executed in 2022, meaning they were under the age of 18 at the time they committed the crime.
The arrest of Sepehri’s brothers was executed by security forces in Mashhad, leaving their current whereabouts and the nature of the charges against them shrouded in uncertainty.
It is worth noting that Fatemeh Sepehri’s health condition had deteriorated significantly, necessitating her urgent hospitalization just the day before this incident.
Mohamad-Hossein Sepehri had previously been imprisoned on political charges and was released from Vakilabad Prison on May 29, 2023.
The individuals have been identified as Mostafa Khosh Shaneh, 30 years old, and Saeed Brahui Makaki, 27 years old. Both were married and fathers of one and two children, respectively.
Brahui Makaki’s execution took place on Sunday, September 24, while Khosh Shaneh was executed on Monday, September 25.
According to a source, both Khosh Shaneh and Brahui Makaki were sentenced to death by the Mashhad Revolutionary Court approximately four and two years ago.
At the time of writing, no official sources or domestic media outlets within the country have reported on these executions.
In 2022, the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists in Iran recorded 457 reports concerning the death penalty. Approximately 43% of these executions were linked to drug-related charges.
A source close to her family has informed HRANA that Gholami Zahab’s sentence includes ten years for “forming a group to act against national security,” five years for “assembly and collusion against the regime,” and one year for “spreading propaganda against the regime.”
Should this verdict be upheld on appeal, the ten-year imprisonment for the first charge will become enforceable.
In a previous revelation to HRANA, another source disclosed that Gholami Zahab had declined legal representation by a private lawyer.
Azam Gholami Zahab, a mother of one child, was arrested in September/October 2022 in Mashhad and has since been held in Vakilabad Prison.
Identified by HRANA as Mahboobeh Roshandel, she was just 27 years old and a mother to a six-year-old child.
Roshandel was found guilty of killing her mother-in-law.
A source close to Roshandel’s family shared with HRANA that during her years of incarceration, her own family did not allow her to see her child, resulting in severe depression.
The source also disclosed, “Recently, the victim’s family had initially expressed their intention to pardon Roshandel, but regrettably, they later reconsidered and changed their decision.”
At the time of writing, no official sources or domestic media outlets within the country have reported on this execution.
In 2022, the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists in Iran registered 457 reports related to the death penalty. This included 92 death sentences, including the conviction of 6 people to public execution and 565 execution sentences were carried out, 2 of which have been carried out in public. Based on the announced identifications of some of the executed individuals, 501 were male and 11 were female. In addition, 5 juvenile offenders were executed in 2022, meaning they were under the age of 18 at the time they committed the crime.
Presiding Judge Hadi Mansouri issued the sentence, comprising six years and six months for “forming a group to act against national security,” three years and seven months for “assembly and collusion against national security,” and eight months for “educational/promotional activities against Sharia.”
During the trial, the presentation of “books and works related to the Baha’i faith” and the establishment of “educational groups for Baha’i children” were cited as evidence for the aforementioned charges.
Should this verdict be upheld upon appeal, the first charge of six years and six months will be enforceable as the most severe sentence, in accordance with Article 1434 of the Islamic Penal Code.
On Tuesday, November 22, 2022, intelligence agents apprehended Baha’i citizen Sanaz Tafazoli in Mashhad. A search of her residence resulted in the confiscation of belongings belonging to both her and her son.
After multiple extensions of her detention period, she was incarcerated at Vakilabad Prison on December 29, 2022.
In February, she was granted a ten-billion-toman bail. However, judicial authorities declined her release on bail, returning this heavy bail to her family.
Aged 45, Tafazoli has a history of arrests and imprisonment due to her activism.
According to the HRANA annual report, a significant portion, accounting for 64.63%, of human rights violations against religious minorities were related to the infringement of Baha’i rights.
The denial of the freedom to practice a religion constitutes a breach of 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 asserts that every individual possesses the right to religious freedom, the freedom to convert, and the freedom of expression, both individually and collectively, openly or privately.
According to this verdict issued on July 27 by Judge Yazdankhah, Atashbar has sentenced to three years for “joining groups to act against national security,” one years and eight months for “insulting the Supreme Leader of Iran,” and ten months for “propaganda against the regime.”
On February 14, 2023, Atashbar was arrested by security forces at his residence in Mashhad. After five days, he was transferred to Vakilabad Prison, where he has remained in detention.
The 46-year-old activist has a history of detention and conviction due to his previous activities.
