Amnesty International calls for the release of Shahnaz Akmali
Amnesty International issued a statement calling for the immediate release of Shahnaz Akmal, the mother of Mustafa Karim Beigi, one of those killed in the post-election protests of 2009, who is serving her sentence in Evin Prison.
Amnesty International issued this statement on Friday, January 17, stating that Shahnaz Akmali is a prisoner of conscience who has been sentenced to prison solely for her peaceful human rights activities in the areas of advocacy, support for the families of those killed in the 2009 protests, and defense of imprisoned civil and political activists.
In part of this statement, this human rights organization called on the authorities of the Islamic Republic to overturn Ms. Akmalli's conviction and release her immediately and unconditionally.
According to Amnesty International, after meeting with the family of Pouya Bakhtiari, one of the victims of the November protests, the mother of Mostafa Karim Beigi received a summons from Branch 1 of the Criminal Execution Division of the Shahid Moghaddisi Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office in Tehran, according to which she was summoned to Evin Prison to serve her one-year prison sentence, a sentence that was issued to her by one of the branches of the Revolutionary Court on charges of "propaganda against the system" and confirmed by the Court of Appeals.
Another part of the statement states that Amnesty International has always called on Iranian authorities, instead of attacking the grieving and suffering families, to fulfill their legitimate demands for truth-finding and justice, and to try and punish those responsible for the killing of protesters without resorting to the death penalty and in accordance with the principles of fair trial.
Ms. Ekmali, who for the past 10 years has been seeking justice and finding the perpetrators of her son's murder, was sentenced to one year in prison, banned from leaving the country, banned from political activity, and banned from membership in cyberspace on charges of "propaganda against the regime." On Wednesday, January 15, she was sent to Evin Prison to serve her sentence.
His son, Mustafa Karim Beigi, was shot in the head and killed during protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election on January 26 of that year, which coincided with Ashura.
According to reports, security officials handed over his body to his family on the condition that the funeral be held outside Tehran, far from his residence, and that no one except his father, mother, and sister be present at the ceremony. Mostafa’s body was buried in Shahriar long after his death.
It is worth noting that the US State Department has repeatedly and on various occasions condemned the violent confrontations and widespread repression of protesters, as well as the repeated and persistent violations of the rights of Iranian citizens by the ruling regime in that country.
Source: Voice of America
