Journalist Keyvan Samimi sentenced to five years in prison
Keyvan Samimi, a journalist and one of the detainees on International Workers' Day in Iran, has been sentenced to five years in prison.
On Monday, May 1, Keyvan Samimi posted this news on his Telegram channel: "The absentee warrant issued states that I was monitored and then identified by agents for the following reasons, and was finally arrested in 2019."
This journalist and political activist also cited the formation of the Iranian People's Freedom Party, which took place 22 years ago, being the editor of the Iran Farda magazine and uploading material to cyberspace, giving speeches and "inciting audiences", supporting political prisoners, and participating in an illegal Labor Day rally, among other charges in his verdict.
Previously, the journalist and political activist had announced that he had been informed "through the judiciary's website" that the trial had been held and the verdict had been issued without his presence.
Keyvan Samimi, editor-in-chief of Iran Farda magazine, was also arrested during an International Workers' Day rally in front of the parliament building in Tehran and is currently being held in Ward 209 of Evin Prison. According to available information, his arrest warrant was extended for one month in mid-June 2019.
Following these arrests, the US State Department's Persian Twitter account criticized the arrest of Iranian labor activists on International Labor Day in a message.
Earlier, Amnesty International issued a statement on International Workers' Day calling on the authorities of the Islamic Republic to immediately release workers and civil society activists who were arrested during strikes and other peaceful protests.
Source: Voice of America
