Theater director Ali Noorani was taken into custody on March 6 to begin serving a one-year sentence at Evin Prison. Simultaneously, new legal proceedings have been initiated against him.

A reliable source close to Noorani confirmed his imprisonment, stating that he was arrested and transferred to Evin Prison following his appearance at the Evin Courthouse. Initially, Judge Iman Afshari of Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court had sentenced Noorani to six years in prison for charges of “propaganda against the regime” and “assembly and collusion against national security.” However, the sentence was later reduced to one year on appeal.

Noorani had previously been arrested on September 17, 2023, at his residence in Tehran. After spending 24 days in detention, he was released on a bail of three billion tomans, equivalent to approximately 60,000 dollars. The recent arrest marks the commencement of his one-year prison term as he faces further legal challenges.

In 2023, the Department of Statistics and Publications of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) documented 2,380 cases in which citizens, including journalists and civil rights activists, faced legal and security consequences for exercising their freedom of expression and thought. These incidents resulted in the arrest of 3,130 individuals.