Student Activist Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison on Charge of ‘Propaganda Against the System’
A student activist has been sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment by Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals for participating in a Student Day special program.
Farshte Tousi, a student activist who recently graduated from Allameh Tabatabaei University in Tehran, has been sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment on the charge of “propaganda activity against the system through participation in a Student Day special program organized by the Islamic Association of Free-Thinking Students of the university,” which was held in 2016.
Amir Raisiyan, a lawyer, said on Monday, September 23rd, to IRNA that the student had previously been accused of propaganda activity against the system and due to a prior conviction on the same charge in 2014, had been sentenced to 18 months in prison and banned from membership in political parties, groups, organizations, and activity in cyberspace, media and press, as well as barred from leaving the country.
The verdict of this student activist was confirmed identically by the appeals court this year as well.
Over the past year, the harsh sentences handed down to detained students have drawn criticism from students, faculty members, and human rights activists.
Parisa Rafiei, another young student activist and labor advocate, was sentenced to seven years in prison by the Revolutionary Court in September of last year. In an open letter, she addressed the conditions of political activists in Iran who are in detention.
In December of last year, Amnesty International described 2018 as a “year of shame” for the Islamic Republic in a report and announced that over 7,000 people—including protest participants, students, journalists, women’s rights activists, environmental activists, labor activists, and advocates for minority and ethnic rights—have been arrested in Iran in that year.
Source: Voice of America
