Kurdish Environmental Activist’s Prison Sentence Increased to 6 Years by Appeals Court

The five-year prison sentence of “Chia Mohammadi,” a resident of Sanandaj and environmental activist previously issued by the Revolutionary Court, has been increased to six years by the appeals court.

According to reports published by human rights media outlets, the sentence of this environmental activist, which was previously issued by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj on charges including “connection with opposition Kurdish parties,” “action against national security,” “propaganda against the system,” and “spreading falsehoods,” was increased to 6 years on Monday, February 3, by Branch 4 of the Kurdistan Province Court of Appeals.

It is unclear to Voice of America which opposition Kurdish party this Sanandaj resident was in contact with.

According to published reports, this environmental activist was previously summoned in another case with a complaint filed by the Kurdistan Province Information Office on charges of “gathering and conspiracy against the system” to the Second Investigation Branch, and was temporarily released on bail pending the end of the trial; however, no court hearing has yet been held regarding this case.

Chia Mohammadi was arrested on March 25, 2019, and after 6 months of detention in solitary cells, was ultimately temporarily released pending the end of trial after posting bail of 800 million tomans.

According to reports published by Voice of America, this is not the first time a Kurdish citizen has been arrested and sentenced to heavy penalties such as lengthy prison sentences. Previously, Tahsin Dadras, a resident of Marivan, was sentenced to 6 years by the Kurdistan Province Court of Appeals on charges of “cooperation with one of the opposition Kurdish parties.”

The U.S. State Department has repeatedly condemned violent crackdowns and widespread suppression of protesters, as well as repeated and continuous violations of the rights of Iranian citizens, including ethnic and religious minorities, by the ruling regime of that country.

Source: Voice of America