Prison sentence for artist who protested IRGC missile attack on Ukrainian plane confirmed
The 3-year prison sentence of Masoud Hokamabadi, a researcher and theater producer in Iran, which was previously issued by the Revolutionary Court, has been confirmed by the Court of Appeal and has been implemented.
This Iranian researcher and artist was sentenced to 3 years in prison by the Mashhad Revolutionary Court in late June of this year on charges of “propaganda activity against the regime” and insulting Ruhollah Khomeini. It is said that this sentence was confirmed by the Khorasan Razavi Province Court of Appeal in recent days, and pursuant to Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, two years of this sentence have been implemented as the maximum punishment.
On Sunday, September 6, Ghay Hokamabadi posted a picture of Mashhad Central Prison on his Instagram, confirming the news, saying, "This picture you see is my new home. A place where I will have to live for 2 years [maybe less, maybe more]."
In his Instagram post, the Iranian artist also refers to all Iranian citizens as potentially criminals, and sarcastically says that there may come a time when someone will be prosecuted for simply reading the same thing he, as a prisoner, wrote on Instagram under the pretext of "disturbing public opinion."
In this Instagram post, Masoud Hokamabadi cited the "incident of withdrawing from the Fajr Festival" as one of the factors contributing to his prison sentence.
Mr. Hokamabadi also announced on his Twitter page that he will be sent to Mashhad Central Prison on Monday, September 8, to serve his sentence.
Previously, Voice of America reported that some Iranian media outlets cited the boycott of the Fajr Festival as one of the reasons for the theater producer's three-year prison sentence.
According to available information, Masoud Hokamabadi was arrested by security forces on January 19, 2019, for refusing to attend the Fajr Festival. The Iranian researcher and artist had boycotted the festival in protest of the IRGC firing a missile at a Ukrainian plane.
The US Department of State has repeatedly condemned the Islamic Republic of Iran's regime's violent actions against the people of Iran, including civil activists, under various pretexts, as well as the repeated and persistent violations of the rights of Iranian citizens by agents of the regime.
Source: DW
