Iranian writer and director Reza Mihandoust sentenced to more than three years in prison
Neda Mihandoust, the sister of Reza (Navid) Mihandoust, an Iranian writer and director who was recently sentenced to three years and six months in prison by the Revolutionary Court, says that one of the examples of the charges is Mr. Mihandoust's friendship and family relationship with Masih Alinejad, the host and commentator of the Voice of America Tablet program, and his brother Alireza Alinejad.
Ms. Neda Mihandoust told VOA that Reza Mihandoust's trial was held on Monday, January 28, at Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Amuzadeh, with the presence of the case's lawyer. She said that the court sentenced him to three years and six months in prison on charges of "propaganda activity against the regime through slogan writing" and "acting against the country's national security through membership in groups opposing the regime with the intention of overthrowing it," and that the verdict was communicated to the defense lawyer on Sunday, January 11.
Ms. Mihandoust told VOA that this verdict is not final and that the lawyer for the case, who also denied the charges in court, is set to appeal the verdict and submit her appeal to the court in the coming days.
The sister of this Iranian writer and worker said, pointing out that the judge in the case cited the charge of acting against the country's national security on the pretext of Mr. Mihandoust's relationship with Masih Alinejad, the host and commentator of the Voice of America Tablet program, and his brother Alireza Alinejad, who is currently serving his sentence in prison, "This relationship is a normal and family friendship and cannot be considered an example of membership in a group opposed to the regime."
Ms. Mihandoust, while referring to her brother's acquaintance and family connection with Masih Alinejad's family since 2008, told VOA: "The verdict refers to the production of a documentary called Taj Khar, directed by my brother, which was about Masih Alinejad's life and press activities in Iran; a documentary that Masih Alinejad was traveling legally in Iran at the time, and this film has never been released. But they used it in the court and interrogations against him and his connection to Masih."
Reza Mihandoust's sister told VOA: "My brother's work is cultural and artistic. He is a filmmaker and I don't think he committed any illegal act. When my brother was arrested, Ministry of Intelligence agents went to our father's house with a search warrant and were looking for documents there. We suspect they were looking for this documentary."
Continuing her conversation with VOA regarding the accusation of propaganda against the regime through sloganeering by the Iranian writer and director, she also said that this accusation is related to her brother's detention for several hours on November 19, 2019 by a security guard at Tehran's Book Garden. According to Ms. Mihandoost, at that time, her brother was carrying white ribbons that read, "The Islamic Republic is not our choice," and this was considered an example of sloganeering in court.
According to available information, Reza (Navid) Mihandoost, who has directed two television series called "Yavar Shishei" and "Shayd Bari Shama Ham Ekhteh Byaftad" and a feature film called "Har Chi Khuda Bekhad" in his artistic career, was summoned by the Ministry of Intelligence on Wednesday, December 13, 2019, by phone to give some explanations and arrested after his short detention on November 18, 2019. He was transferred from detention to Ward 209 of the Ministry of Intelligence in Evin Prison and was finally released from prison after two months of interrogations on February 14, 2019, after posting a bail of 850 million Tomans, temporarily and until the end of the trial.
Neda Mihandoust told VOA, “My brother was unable to officially continue his professional activities after his temporary release.” Ms. Mihandoust continued, “When you face such accusations and want to do something, no one is willing to cooperate. We hope that something will happen in the appeals court and this sentence will be modified; but right now we don’t know what will happen and we are all worried and anxious and we hope that the sentence will be changed.”
The US Department of State has repeatedly condemned the Islamic Republic government's violent actions against the people of Iran under various pretexts, and the repeated and persistent violations of the rights of Iranian citizens, including the right to freedom of expression and freedom of the press, by agents of the regime.
Source: Voice of America
