Reza Mehregan, One of the Signatories of a Letter Calling for Khamenei’s Resignation, Sentenced to Prison and Flogging
Reza Mehregan, one of the signatories of a letter calling for the resignation of Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has been sentenced to 7 years in prison and 74 lashes by the Revolutionary Court.
“Ali Sharifzadeh,” Reza Mehregan’s defense lawyer, announced in an Instagram post that this imprisoned civil activist has been sentenced by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, on charges including “assembly and conspiracy against the system,” “propaganda against the system,” and “disruption of public order and peace” to seven years in prison, 74 lashes, and two years of exile to Jaffarabad village in Arin, South Khorasan Province.
This sentence was issued for Mr. Mehregan at a time when, if confirmed and in accordance with Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code regarding the consolidation of sentences, only 5 years of this sentence would be enforceable.
This lawyer also announced on his Instagram account that this civil activist has been sentenced on the charge of assembly and conspiracy to 5 years in prison, for propaganda against the system to one year in prison, and for the charge of disruption of public order and peace to one year in prison, 74 lashes, and also to 2 years of exile to Jaffarabad village in Arin, South Khorasan as a supplementary punishment.
Previously, Voice of America reported that Reza Mehregan, one of the signatories of a letter calling for the resignation of Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, was arrested on Wednesday, September 6, when officers from the Information Office of Ramsar County visited his residence in one of the villages under Ramsar County, and after searching his home and seizing several personal items including a mobile phone.
This imprisoned civil activist, Zoroaster Ahmadi-Ragheb, Mohammad Reza Beyat, Kamal Jafari Yazdi, Hashem Khahvestar, Mohammad Hossein Sepahri, Gohar Eshghi (mother of Satar Beheshti), Houriyeh Farajzadeh (sister of Shahram Farajzadeh, one of those killed in the 2009 protests), Mohammad Karim Bigei, Javad Lallemohammadi, Mohammad Maleki, Mohammad Mehdavi-Far, Mohammad Nourizad, and Abbas Vahidiyan Shahrudi were signatories of the letter calling for Khamenei’s resignation.
In mid-Mordad of this year, 14 women activists and civil rights advocates, given the inequalities and problems faced by women in Iran, called for moving beyond the Islamic Republic and drafting a new constitution through the publication of a letter.
Sheila Entesari, Nosrat Beheshti, Farshte Tasvibee, Parva (Sakina) Pachideh, Giti Pourfazel, Ezat Javadi-Hassar, Zahra Jamali, Sheila Jahanbeen, Fatima Sepahri, Maryam Soleimani, Susan Tahrkhani, Frangis Mazloom, Narges Mansouri, and Kimia Noroozi-Saber were signatories of this letter.
Previously, the security authorities of the Islamic Republic accused the signatories of these letters of attempting to “design a new sedition.” Many of the signatories of these two letters have been arrested in recent days.
International human rights organizations and the United States have accused the Islamic Republic of violating freedom of expression and suppressing civil activists, calling for the release of journalists who have been imprisoned solely for performing their duties and work.
The U.S. State Department also says that the Iranian regime has arrested thousands of protesters, civil activists, representatives of workers, and others in the past two years.
Source: Voice of America
