Iran: Appeals Court Upholds Sentences Against Two Activists
Published by Ali on April 26, 2021
International Liberty Association: Ardabil appeal court in Iran has upheld prison and flogging sentences against two Azerbaijani Turkic activists.
The Branch 10 of Ardabil Court of Appeal has upheld a total of eight months in prison and 40 lashes against Meysam Jolani and Ali Khairjou.
Their trial, presided over by Judge Sajjad Habibi, was initially held on December 1, 2020. They were both charged with “participation in disrupting public order”.
The sentence of these activists has now been upheld and it has been suspended for a year.
Meysam Jolani and Ali Khairjou were detained on 1 October 2020 in their homes, after taking part in a gathering in Ardabil’s Jiral Park. Security agents without badges scaled their home walls and raided their homes. They were also brutally beaten upon arrest.
Khairjou’s wife, Afsaneh Akbarzadeh was also arrested on 3 October 2020, along with the family members of others in the gathering. She was released the next day.
They were transferred to Ardabil Prison and then taken to the Ardabil Detention Center on 20 October 2020. The two men were temporarily released on bail on 29 October 2020.
The Iran is one of the few states that still use degrading punishments, even though all international civil and political rights conventions have prohibited the use of inhumane punishments such as execution and flogging.
ILA: Iran judiciary routinely hands out flogging sentences to protesters, dissidents, those charged with non-violent crimes like theft, and those charged with “morality” offenses like adultery.
At least 13 flogging sentences have been issued this month by the Iran judicial system.
