Prison Sentence of Aliyeh Mathabzadeh, Women’s Rights Activist, Upheld in Appeals Court

The three-year prison sentence of Aliyeh Mathabzadeh, vice president of the Society for the Defense of Press Freedom and women’s rights activist, has been upheld by the Tehran Province Appeals Court.

An informed source told Voice of America that Mathabzadeh’s three-year prison sentence, which was previously issued by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran on charges of “gathering and conspiracy against national security” and “propaganda against the system,” has been confirmed as is by Branch 36 of the Tehran Province Appeals Court, headed by Judge Zargar.

This ruling was issued while based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code regarding the consolidation of sentences, only two years of this sentence will be executable as the most severe punishment.

According to the informed source, Mathabzadeh’s three-year prison sentence has been referred for execution to the First Branch of the Execution of Sentences at the Shahid Mogaddas Evin Prosecutor’s Office, and the sentence execution authority has given the women’s rights activist five days in its notice to report herself to the relevant branch for execution of the sentence.

Aliyeh Mathabzadeh, vice president of the Society for the Defense of Press Freedom and women’s rights activist, was arrested in December 2016 following a summons to the Intelligence Office and after appearing at the security agency. After some time, she was temporarily released from Evin Prison by posting a 300 million toman bail until the end of legal proceedings.

Also in September of this year, Atefeh Rangriz, a women’s rights activist, was sentenced by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, headed by Judge Mohammad Moghisseh, to 11 years and six months in prison and 74 lashes on charges such as “gathering and conspiracy against national security” and “disruption of public order.”

In February of last year, Amnesty International in a report called 2018 “a year of shame” for the Islamic Republic and announced that in that year more than seven thousand people, including protest participants, students, journalists, women’s rights activists, environmental activists, labor activists, and ethnic and religious minority rights activists, were arrested in Iran.

The U.S. State Department recently strongly condemned the severe crackdown on women’s rights activists in Iran by the Islamic Republic regime and called for an end to the harassment, persecution, and imprisonment of women who are only demanding their basic and fundamental rights.

Source: Voice of America