Three women rights activists were sentenced to 55 years imprisonment

Yasaman Aryani, Monireh Arabshahi, and Mojgan Keshavarz, detained civil rights activists of Qarchak prison in Varamin, were sentenced to 55 years and six months imprisonment, combined, on July 31, 2019.

At the branch 28 of Revolutionary Court, judge Moghiseh, sentenced them for “encourage and promote corruption by de-veiling” to 10 years in prison , for “propaganda against the state” to one year imprisonment and for “collusion and assembly to act against national security” to five years in prison. Moreover, Mojgan Keshavarz was sentenced to additional seven years and six months in prison for the charge of “blasphemy”. Lawyer of Aryani and Arabshahi, Amir Reissian, said to HRANA that their lawyers were not allowed to attend their interrogation and trials. Their trials were scheduled without any prior notice.

During the trial, judge Moghiseh insulted them and threatened them to more prison years in Qarchak prison. He added that their lawyers can not have access to their cases until the appeal’s court.

Yasaman Aryani and Monireh Arabshahi are a mother and daughter who were arrested in early April 2019 because of their civil activities including commemorating the international women’s day and have been detained in Qarchak prison ever since. Before being transferred to prison, Yasaman Aryani was detained for nine days in a solitary confinement cell in Vozara detention center where she was under interrogation and pressure to do a forced confession on her civil activities. She was also threatened that her friends and family members will be detained if she is not cooperating. Her mother, Monireh Arabshahi, was also arrested and was transferred to Qarchak prison. They have been resided in Ward five of this prison where the majority of the detainees are foreign citizens.

It has been claimed that her interrogation was on basis of the charges such as “to encourage and promote corruption by de-veiling”, “propaganda against the state” through civil activities and her activities regarding her opposition to the mandatory hijab and appearing in public without wearing a hijab during the international women’s day celebrations in the Tehran’s underground railway. Arabshahi’s charges, as they were announced by the Branch 21 of the General and Revolutionary Court of Tehran, are “to encourage and promote corruption by de-veiling”, “propaganda against the state” and “collusion and assembly to act against national security”. There has been no proof offered to verify such charges. Although a 500 million Tomans bail was set for the release of Monir Arabshahi, she is still being kept in the Qarchak prison.

Mojgan Keshavarz was arrested in her house on April 25, 2019 and was transferred to Qarchak prison on May 1.

They received their sentences on July 31, 2019 without the attendance of their lawyers. based on Article 134 of Iran’s Penal Code, the charge with the highest penalty will be considered which means that they should serve 10 years in prison, each.

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