Iran: Unfair Sentences for Women Civil Activists and Religious Minorities
Published by Ali on August 19, 2020
International Liberty Association: Iran continues to issue unfair sentences against civil activists, protesters, and religious minorities. This is while Iranian prisons are overwhelmed with the spread of the coronavirus.
It is a short report and in this report, you will read about some of them.
It should be mentioned that every day, there is news of infection of more prisoners and security guards, while there is a lack of PPI and basic medical equipment in prisons.
Prisoners, including women, have been protesting this situation by holding sit-ins and going on a hunger strike. They demand that the Iranian authorities release the prisoners, immediately.
ILA has recently reported unfair sentences for civil activists, human rights defenders, Kurdish activists, and religious minorities.
5-year sentence for protesting in November 2019
Fatemeh Davand
Fatemeh Davand, one of the participants in the protests in November 2019 in Boukan, was taken to the Central Prison of Urmia on 6 August 2020 to begin serving her five-year imprisonment.
Ms Davand, 42 from Boukan, and mother of three children had been arrested during the November 2019 uprising. The Revolutionary Court of Boukan sentenced her to 5 years and 5 months in jail and 30 lashes.
Boukan is one of the cities of the Iranian Kurdistan.
One-year jail sentence for commemorating Cyrus the Great
Yasamin Hanifeh Tabatabaii
The Revolutionary Court of Tehran handed down a year-long jail sentence to Yasamin Hanifeh Tabatabaii, deprived her of any political activity for two years, and ordered her to do forced labour for four years in a convalescence home.
Ms Tabatabaii is charged for going to Pasargadae on 29 October 2019, to commemorate the birth of Cyrus the Great. She had been arrested at a checkpoint by security forces and transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison.
Cyrus the Great was the King of Persia in 529-550 B.C. who wrote the world’s first charter of human rights.
Unfair sentences for religious minorities
Cathrine Sajjadpour
Cathrine (Saeedeh) Sajjadpour and Sakineh Behjati were each sentenced to two years in jail on charges of “acting against national security” and “participating in home churches.”
The two new Christian converts from Rasht had been questioned by security forces at their homes in February 2020 and told that they would be summoned, soon.
Also, on 6 August 2020, the Revolutionary Court of Shahriar sentenced each of three Baha’i women to one-year imprisonment. Jamileh Pakru, Elham Salmanzadeh, and Neda Shabani are charged with “propaganda against the state.”
Mitra Bandi Amirabadi and Hiva Yazdan Mehdi, another two Baha’i women, have been in jail since June 2020 without trial. The detention of the two residents of Yazd was recently extended for another month.
Dire conditions of Shahnaz Sadeghifar
Shahnaz Sadeghifar is on hunger strike in the women’s ward of the Central Prison of Urmia. She has been reported to be in dire health conditions. Ms. Sadeghifar started her hunger strike on 28 July 2020 in protest to the 15-year unfair sentences issued for her and her daughter.
Nasrin Sotoudeh on hunger strike
Nasrin Sotoudeh
Human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh sent out a letter from Evin Prison on 11 August 2020, announcing that she has started another round of hunger strike, demanding the release of political prisoners.
Noting the Coronavirus pandemic, Ms Sotoudeh wrote in her letter that due to “the oppressive conditions in jail, and after receiving no answers to the letters and legal demands of prisoners, I am going on hunger strike demanding the release of political prisoners.”
Political prisoner Nasrin Sotoudeh has been jailed in Evin Prison since 13 June 2018. Her sentence is 38 years of imprisonment and 148 lashes.
