Four Women’s Rights Activists Sentenced to Total of 16 Years in Prison
Nahid Shaghaqi, Akram Nasiryan, Mariam Mohammadi, and Asrin Darkale, four women’s rights activists, have been sentenced to a combined total of over 16 years in prison by the Revolutionary Court.
According to reports published on social media, these four women’s rights activists, who are members of the “Voice of Iranian Women” organization, announced through a statement in cyberspace that on December 10, they were each sentenced by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court, headed by Judge Afshari, to a combined total of four years and two months in prison on charges of “assembly and conspiracy,” “propaganda against the system,” and “pretending to commit a forbidden act in the form of not wearing hijab.”
Asrin Darkale also announced on her Instagram page that only three years of this sentence would be enforceable.
Akram Nasiryan was arrested in early Ordibehesht, Nahid Shaghaqi in late Ordibehesht, Mariam Mohammadi in early Tir, and Asrin Darkale in early Mordad by security forces. They have currently been released from Evin Prison on bail pending the completion of legal proceedings.
According to Amnesty International’s report, in 2018, more than seven thousand people, including protest participants, students, journalists, women’s rights activists, environmental activists, labor activists, and advocates for ethnic and religious minorities in Iran, were arrested and hundreds were sentenced to prison.
The U.S. State Department also states that the Iranian regime has arrested thousands of protesters, civil activists, and representatives of workers and other sectors over the past two years.
The United States has repeatedly condemned the violent crackdowns and widespread suppression of protesters and civil activists in various instances, as well as the persistent and continuous violation of the rights of Iranian citizens by the ruling regime of that country.
Source: Voice of America
