A Baha'i citizen living in Babol was sentenced to one year in prison.
The defense attorney for Shiva Khalili, a Baha'i citizen in Iran, announced his client's prison sentence in a tweet.
Mohammad Hadi Erfanian Kasab, the lawyer defending this Baha'i citizen, published this news on his Twitter account on Saturday, December 17, writing that Shiva Khalili has been sentenced to one year in prison by the First Branch of the Babol City Revolutionary Court on charges of "propaganda against the system" and her cell phone has been confiscated as an "instrument of crime."
He further added that the ruling is not final and that he will appeal it within the legally prescribed deadline.
My client, Ms. Shiva Khalili, was sentenced by the First Branch of the Babol City Revolutionary Court to one year in prison and the confiscation of her mobile phone as an instrument of the crime on charges of propaganda against the regime, pursuant to Article 500 of the Penal Code. An appeal will be filed within the legally prescribed deadline.
According to some human rights media outlets, Shiva Khalili was arrested on Tuesday, November 15, following a telephone summons to Branch 1 of the city's Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office. After a day, she was temporarily released on bail until the end of the trial.
Previously, Farhad Sabetan, a spokesman for the Baha'i International Community, told VOA that the Islamic Republic has not provided a specific reason to date for suppressing and harassing Baha'i citizens in Iran.
He emphasized: "The accusations that are always made against Baha'i citizens are baseless accusations that are rejected by the Baha'i community, accusations such as disrupting national security, espionage, or illegal gatherings."
