16 Parliament Members Protest Harsh Sentences and Lack of News About Noshin Jafari and Her Sister in Prison

Parvane Salehshouri was the first representative to protest the recent arrests of civil activists on September 1st, when she criticized in a statement in parliament “the severity of sentences issued for individuals such as Marzieh Amiri, Atefeh Rangariz, and Noshin Jafari, and considered the comparison of these sentences with those issued to embezzlers regrettable.”

Salehshouri, criticizing the contradiction between Ebrahim Raisi’s slogans before and after his appointment as head of the judiciary, said: “But unfortunately, we are witnessing a repetition of sentences that previous heads of the judiciary emphasized.”

One day later, 16 members of the Hope Faction in a letter addressed to the head of the judiciary called for the revision of sentences issued for journalists and civil activists.

The letter begins: “Recently, severe sentences have been issued against some journalists such as Marzieh Amiri, Atefeh Rangariz, and Neda Naji for participating in workers’ gatherings on Labor Day in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, which has faced difficulty in convincing society.”

These representatives, noting that they were convicted of heavy sentences solely for participation in gatherings or news coverage of events, stated: “If their crime was participation in a gathering, which is not contrary to the constitution, and if it was reporting, it was their inherent duty. The same applies to what happened regarding social activist Noshin Jafari.” However, the parliament members did not mention Kiumarth Marzbaan, a satirist whose lawyer announced he was sentenced to 23 years and 9 months in prison, in their letter to the head of the judiciary.

The representatives who signed this letter are: Ali Motahari, Elias Hazrati, Gholomreza Heidari, Ali Nobakht, Ghasem Mirzaei-Niko, Abdolkarim Hosseinzadeh, Mahmoud Sadeghi, Mostafa Kavakbians, Parvane Salehshouri, Tayebeh Siavoshi, Seyed Hamideh Zarabadi, Farajollah Rajabi, Mohammad Reza Tabesh, Bahram Parsaee, and Alireza Rahimi.

Between September 2nd and September 9th, three young prisoners were sentenced to harsh sentences by the Revolutionary Court branches. On September 2nd, the lawyer of Kiumarth Marzbaan, a satirist who was arrested shortly after returning to Iran, announced his client was sentenced to 23 years and 9 months in prison by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court. Mr. Marzbaan came to Iran in summer 2017 to visit his grandmother and was arrested by security forces in September 2018 and has since been held in Evin Prison. However, parliament members did not mention him in their letter to the head of the judiciary.

Marzieh Amiri, a journalist at Shargh newspaper, was arrested during workers’ protests in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly on April 1st. Her lawyer, Amir Raeesyian, announced on September 4th that this journalist was sentenced to 10 years and 6 months in prison and 148 lashes by the judge of Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court.

Marzieh Amiri was an economic journalist at Shargh newspaper and a graduate student in social sciences at Tehran University. Marzieh Amiri’s trial was held on August 13th in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Mohammad Moghisseh. Her lawyer, Arash Dolat-Shahi, in an interview with IRNA while protesting her sentence and others, stated: “These sentences issued for students, critics, and journalists are not befitting the judicial system, and it is also not in the interest of our system. As Ms. Amiri also stated in her interrogations that she believes in the system and has criticisms and protests within that framework.”

Also, Atefeh Rangariz, a labor activist, was sentenced by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court to 11 years and 6 months in prison and 74 lashes for participating in the International Workers’ Day gathering (April 1st). The charges against this labor activist are “assembly and conspiracy against national security” and “disruption of public order” through participation in workers’ protests and International Workers’ Day protests.

Ms. Rangariz, born in 1988, is single and holds a master’s degree in sociology from Tarbiat Modares University. She was arrested during International Workers’ Day gatherings in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and transferred to Evin Prison. However, after a few days, for unclear reasons, she was transferred to Qarchak Prison in Varamin, where she remains. Neda Naji, another labor activist, was also arrested along with Ms. Rangariz on April 1st during labor gatherings and is currently in Evin Prison awaiting trial.

However, the documentation and examples of the security charges against these three young people are unclear, on what basis they were convicted of these charges and ultimately heavy sentences. If these sentences are confirmed in the appellate court, based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, which relates to the imposition of the highest penalty among the charges against the defendant, Kiumarth Marzbaan is sentenced to 11 years in prison, Marzieh Amiri is sentenced to 6 years in prison, and Atefeh Rangariz is sentenced to 7 years in prison.

Arrest of Noshin Jafari’s Sister; Putting Families Under Pressure

On the other hand, Noshin Jafari, a theater and cinema photographer, has been in detention since August 4th. Twitter users of value wrote after her arrest that her arrest is related to a Twitter account called “Yardbestani” which posted content insulting sacred values. After her arrest, widespread reactions from colleagues and the artistic community emerged, questioning these accusations.

Amir Raeesyian, Noshin Jafari’s lawyer, said in an interview that she has had only one phone contact with her family on August 28th. When asked if any charge other than insulting sacred values and propaganda against the system has been communicated to Noshin Jafari, he said: “On August 27th, I went to the Security Prosecutor’s Office to claim representation in this case, but because the case is labeled as a security matter, they did not allow representation, and in the contact Noshin Jafari had with her family, she did not speak about her charges.”

Gholam-Hossein Esmaili, spokesman of the judiciary, on August 22nd in his press conference described her charges as “insulting sacred values and propaganda against the system.” He claimed that this professional photographer was arrested for “insulting Imam Ali (Seyyed al-Shohada) and mourning rituals and propaganda against the Islamic Republic system.” However, he provided no explanation of what his claims were based on.

Eight days after the claims by the judiciary spokesman, an audio message from Noshin Jafari in Evin Prison was released. In this audio message, Ms. Jafari, crying, asks her friend Shiva Nazaraheri to save her. Ms. Nazaraheri, who lives abroad to continue her studies, after receiving this audio message sent to her phone, released it on Twitter on August 30th, 2019.

In this audio message, Noshin Jafari, addressing Ms. Nazaraheri, crying, says she is under pressure: “Shiva dear. I am under a lot of pressure here. Please give me the username and password and email of the Yardbestani account on Twitter. They are putting pressure on your family if you don’t give this. Please help so I can escape soon. Everything and Twitter has fallen on the neck of me, the poor. Save me from here.”

Shahrzad Jafari, the only family member of hers who informed about Ms. Jafari’s condition on her Twitter, after the audio message was released, wrote: #SaveNoshin #NoshinJafari the voice of my sister: #SaveMeFromHere We are worried about Noshin… For several days we have had no news of Noshin… Who is responsible?!? My family demands a #FairInvestigation of this issue from the #Judiciary and #ParliamentMembers.

The release of this audio file was accompanied by reactions from many political and civil activists, especially those who were closely acquainted with Noshin Jafari. However, the judiciary spokesman again, in his press conference on September 3rd regarding the audio file released from Ms. Jafari, said: “We have repeatedly announced that prisoners contact their families, relatives, and individuals, and we consider allowing prisoners to make contact as one of the advantages of our prison system. Regardless of whether this audio belongs to the defendant or not, I generally state that prisoners’ contact with the outside is a self-evident and accepted matter and these contacts take place.” He added about Noshin Jafari being under pressure: “A person in contact, just like outside, may also claim falsehoods; but claiming to be under pressure is not a correct claim. Our investigations and detentions are certainly within the framework of legal regulations and procedures.”

Shahrzad Jafari, Noshin Jafari’s sister, in response to the judiciary spokesman’s statements, wrote on her Twitter account: “Mr. Judiciary Spokesman, it seems you misunderstood the question!!! That my sister had only one 2-minute contact via WhatsApp during 25 days of detention, do you count as part of the prison system’s privileges, and then you put a photographer whose charge has not been proven next to a drug smuggler??” She continued in another tweet: “The reporter’s question is about the voice message that #NoshinJafari sent crying to her friend via Instagram, not contact with us.” Shahrzad Jafari had previously announced that following the release of this audio message, her family was even prevented from entering the Evin Prosecutor’s Office building. She wrote: “After the release of the video of my sister crying and asking for help and rescue, not only did the prosecutor of the case not respond to my mother today, but they also prevented her from entering the Evin Prosecutor’s Office.”

But the judiciary’s response to Noshin Jafari’s sister’s information and her reaction to the judiciary spokesman’s statements was her arrest. Shahrzad Jafari was arrested on September 1st at her home by security forces. There is still no information about the reason for her arrest, the arresting agency, and her place of detention. Shahrzad Jafari, after her sister’s arrest, wrote about her situation on her Twitter account.

Shiva Nazaraheri, a women’s rights activist, in announcing her arrest on her Twitter account, wrote that Noshin Jafari’s sister had previously been threatened for informing about her sister. Ms. Nazaraheri wrote on Twitter: “#ShahrzadJafari, sister of #NoshinJafari was arrested this morning. They had threatened her not to inform about her sister’s condition, again they raided her house this morning. Are you Muslim? Their mother is heartbroken, cursed..”

Source: Iran Human Rights Campaign