Three-Year Prison Sentence for “Mokhtar Zaraei,” Civil Activist from Sanandaj, Confirmed
The three-year prison sentence for “Mokhtar Zaraei,” a civil activist from Sanandaj, which was issued in absentia last March on charges of “assembly and conspiracy against national security,” has been confirmed following a retrial.
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported on Tuesday, May 30, that Maziar Tatai, the lawyer of this civil activist, while confirming the news of the three-year prison sentence, stated: “My client has been convicted by the second branch of the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court on charges of insulting the Leader of the Islamic Republic with two years imprisonment and on charges of propaganda against the system with one year imprisonment.”
This legal counsel further elaborated on the court documents basis for issuing this sentence: “The basis of the verdict is a letter that Mr. Mokhtar Zaraei had written to the leadership in April 2018, in which he, with a critical perspective, reminded of the necessity of implementing reforms in methods and policies for the establishment of democracy and made a request accordingly.”
Following a speech by the Leader of the Islamic Republic regarding “freedom of expression” at the beginning of 2018, Mokhtar Zaraei published a critical letter addressed to Iran’s leadership, and in this letter, while referring to their 30-year record, he addressed violations of human rights, freedom of speech and opinion during these years. Mr. Zaraei was arrested by intelligence officers on July 21 following a summons to the second branch of the Sanandaj Prosecutor’s Office on charges of internet crimes, and he spent 20 days in detention.
In December of last year, Amnesty International in a report called 2018 a “year of shame” for the Islamic Republic and announced that in that year, 11 lawyers, 50 journalists and media activists, 91 students, 112 women’s rights activists, 63 environmental activists, 467 workers, more than 200 members of the Gonabadi Dervishes, 171 Christians and 95 Baha’is were arrested in Iran.
Source: Voice of America
