A lawyer and civil activist from Kermanshah was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Soheila Hijab, a lawyer and civil activist from Kermanshah who was arrested by IRGC intelligence agents in mid-June, was sentenced to 18 years in prison by the Revolutionary Court.

According to the Human Rights in Iran website, this Kurdish civil activist was sentenced to a total of 18 years in prison on Wednesday, March 19, by Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Moghiseh, on charges of "propaganda against the system," "gathering and colluding," "inciting public confession with the intention of rioting," "forming a group in support of women's rights," and "requesting a referendum and changing the constitution."

This sentence was issued to Soheila Hijab at a time when, according to Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, which states that sentences can be combined, if this sentence is confirmed by the appeals court, only 7 years and 6 months of it will be enforceable on the charge of "assembly and collusion."

According to this report, this Kurdish civil activist was arrested by IRGC intelligence agents at her home on June 6, 2018, and was temporarily released from the women's ward of Evin Prison on Saturday, March 14, 2018, after posting a bail of 3 billion Tomans, pending the completion of the trial.

This is not the first time that Soheila Hijab has faced a prison sentence. She was previously arrested in Shiraz on January 28, 2018, and later sentenced to 2 years in prison by the city's Revolutionary Court. According to available information, she was released from Adel Abad Prison on parole after serving 5 months of her sentence.

Previously, the Voice of America reported on other Kurdish activists that the 69-month prison sentence of Mojgan Kavsi, a Kurdish writer and researcher, who was sentenced by the Nowshahr Court of First Instance on charges such as "propaganda against the regime," "encouraging people to disrupt public order," and "membership in groups hostile to the regime," had been increased to 76 months and 15 days by the appeals court.

The US State Department has repeatedly condemned the Islamic Republic of Iran's violent actions against the people of Iran under various pretexts, as well as the repeated and persistent violations of the rights of Iranian citizens by agents of the regime.

Source: Voice of America