Ali Nouri Zad’s Mother: My Son’s Sentence is Political and Aimed at Pressuring My Husband
Fatema Maleki, mother of Ali Nouri Zad who was sentenced to three and a half years in prison by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court, announced in an interview with the Iran Human Rights Campaign that an appeal hearing for her son will be held on Wednesday, the 10th of Ordibehesht, and stated that the sentence issued for her son is political and intended to pressure Mohammad Nouri Zad.
Ms. Maleki told the campaign that her son and others who took to the streets to express solidarity with the families of victims of the Ukrainian plane crash shot down by an IRGC missile should be commended rather than imprisoned.
Ali Nouri Zad is the son of Mohammad Nouri Zad (a political activist and signatory to a petition calling for the Leader of the Islamic Republic to resign) who was arrested on 22 Dey 1398 during public protests against the shooting down of the Ukrainian passenger plane by an IRGC missile.
Fatema Maleki, Ali Nouri Zad’s mother, said in an interview with the campaign: “Ali was arrested on 22 Dey when he went to express sympathy with the victims of the aviation disaster, the plane crash, by the IRGC and was interrogated at a military base. One day after his arrest, he was transferred to Evin Prison and was released 20 days later on a bail of 850 million tomans. However, on 19 Farvardin, in an in absentia trial, he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on charges of gathering and conspiracy against national security. We consider this sentence more of a political ruling than a legal one, and it is aimed at pressuring Mohammad Nouri Zad. We absolutely do not accept this verdict.”
On Wednesday morning, the Ukrainian plane with 176 passengers crashed minutes after taking off from Imam Khomeini Airport as a result of being hit by an IRGC missile near Tehran, and all passengers were killed. Officials of the Islamic Republic initially cited a technical defect as the cause of the plane crash, but three days after the tragedy, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic officially acknowledged that the IRGC air defense had made an error and mistakenly targeted this plane. They cited “human error” as the cause of this catastrophic tragedy.
On Wednesday, 10 Ordibehesht, Ali Nouri Zad’s appeal hearing was held at Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court. His mother told the campaign: “Because the sentence was issued in absentia, the lawyer lodged an objection, and today the appeal hearing was held with Ali and his lawyer present in court presenting their defense. But they will probably issue the same sentence again because our judges are subordinate to security officials and take orders from above, and this sentence came from above because fundamentally my son did nothing wrong. He and the young people who wanted to show sympathy with families of those who died in the plane crash should be commended, not imprisoned. This sentence was primarily intended to pressure Mr. Nouri Zad, and we accept neither the charges nor the verdict.”
Regarding the charges brought against Ali Nouri Zad, Ms. Maleki told the campaign: “They have charged him with gathering and conspiracy with the intent to disrupt national security. Because I said I had arranged with my friends to go to protest and express solidarity. They have taken this statement as gathering and conspiracy. What does gathering and conspiracy mean in the end? They arranged to set banks on fire? Plant bombs? They only went to express sympathy and committed no crime against national security.”
Mohammad Nouri Zad, Ali Nouri Zad’s father, who is imprisoned in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, announced in an audio file released by his wife on Tuesday, 9 Ordibehesht, that “I am ashamed before my family that they are suffering because of me. In protest of the harassment of my family, I have decided upon a voluntary self-harm act, news of which may emerge a few days from now.”
Mohammad Nouri Zad, who has been in detention since 19 Tir, was sentenced by Branch 4 of the Mashhad Revolutionary Court to 15 years imprisonment, 3 years exile in Yazd, and 3 years ban on leaving the country.
On 21 Khordad 1398, a letter was released by 14 political and civil activists residing in Mashhad and Tehran calling on the Leader of the Islamic Republic to resign and amend the Constitution. The letter stated: “The time has come for the people, activists, and well-meaning thinkers, by setting aside the expedient inclinations that have facilitated the destruction of the nation’s culture, civilization, and wealth, to openly enter the arena and, by demanding fundamental change to the Constitution and the resignation of leadership that unjustly increases its authority each day, to be the pioneers of this national movement.”
Mohammad Nouri Zad, Mohammad Maleki, Gohar Eshghi (mother of Sattar Beheshti), Abbas Vahediyan Shahrudi, Kamal Jafari Yazdi, Mohammad Mahdavi Farr, Houriye Faraji Zade (sister of Shahram Faraji Zade among the 2009 protests martyrs), Javad Lal Mohammadi, Reza Mehrgan, Mohammad Reza Beyat, Mohammad Hossein Sepahri, Hashem Khahvastgar, Mohammad Karim Biggi, and Zoroaster Ahmadi Ragheb are the signatories of this letter.
Source: Iran Human Rights Campaign
