Behnam Musivand summoned to serve prison sentence; punishment for participating in the January protests three years ago
Behnam Musivand, a civil activist and one of the detainees of the January 2017 protests, who had previously been sentenced to 6 years in prison by the Revolutionary Court, was summoned to execute this sentence.
On Tuesday, June 26, this civil activist posted a picture of the notice on his Twitter account, announcing that he has 5 days to report to the execution department to serve his 5-year prison sentence. The notice states that he must appear at Branch 1 of the 33rd District Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office within the announced period to serve the sentence.
Another part of the summons served on Mr. Musivand states that he will be arrested if he does not appear within the stated time.
In early September 2019, Behnam Mosivand, along with eight other people arrested during the January protests, was sentenced to six years in prison by Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, headed by Judge Mohammad Moghiseh, on charges of "gathering and colluding with the intention of acting against the security of the country" and "propaganda activity against the government." This sentence was confirmed in Branch 36 of the Tehran Provincial Court of Appeals, and according to Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, only his five-year prison sentence will be enforceable as the maximum punishment.
Part of the indictment issued to these civil activists stated that these individuals had participated in the street protests in January and had published news about "anti-regime media" in cyberspace, thereby calling for "illegal gatherings."
In January 2017, protests against high prices first began in Mashhad, and then more than 100 cities in Iran witnessed demonstrations against the regime and Ali Khamenei. More than 20 people were killed in these demonstrations, which were severely suppressed.
This ruling has been implemented by the Iranian government at a time when the spread of the coronavirus is not fully controlled in Iran, and human rights news agencies are increasingly reporting on the spread of the virus. As of Wednesday, June 27, 2020, the Islamic Republic's authorities officially announced the death of 7564 people, and the total number of infected people has reached 141,591.
This comes after a World Health Organization official previously said that the figures announced by Iranian authorities on coronavirus cases were only one-fifth of the actual number of infected people. The official figures on the number of infected and dead due to COVID-19 in Iran, China, and Russia cannot be verified by independent experts and cannot be considered reliable or final.
The US State Department says that the Iranian regime has arrested thousands of protesters, civil activists, and representatives of workers and other trade unions in recent years.
Source: Voice of America
