A student activist at Tehran University sentenced to imprisonment and lashing
Ali Nanovaei, a student activist at Tehran University who was detained by security forces in late November while leaving the university, has been sentenced by Tehran’s Revolutionary Court to imprisonment, lashing, and rewriting three volumes of books.
This student activist at Tehran University was sentenced on Saturday, February 15, by Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, on charges of “disrupting public order” to six months imprisonment, 74 lashes, and rewriting three volumes of books titled “The Falafel Selling Boy, A Foot Left Behind, and Three Minutes in the Hereafter.”
According to published reports, the court hearing for Ali Nanovaei’s case was held on February 5 at the Revolutionary Court, and based on the issued verdict, the sentence of imprisonment and lashing for this student activist was suspended for two years, but the sentence of rewriting three volumes of books, which was issued as a supplementary punishment for him, was not suspended and is enforceable.
Previously, Voice of America, according to student sources, reported that this Tehran University student was detained on November 27 by security forces while leaving Tehran University.
On Monday, November 27, Tehran University students held a gathering in protest against the tripling of gasoline prices, catastrophic living conditions, and heavy suppression, following which approximately 50 students were detained by plainclothes agents and transferred by “ambulance” to Fashafuyeh Prison and some to Evin Prison.
Following the people’s protests that began with the increase in gasoline prices on November 24, students also organized protest gatherings at various universities including Tehran, Tabriz, Babol, and Urmia universities.
Protests against gasoline price increases began on Friday, November 24, following the sudden announcement of gasoline price hikes, in various Iranian cities including Mashhad, Khuzestan, Ahvaz, Khorramshahr, and Behbahan, and gradually spread to all regions of the country. Over the past two days, various reports and videos of protest gatherings and people’s slogans against the government in different cities have been published. In some cities, protesters set fires to banks and clashed with police.
The United States says the Islamic Republic uses the country’s wealth to support terrorist groups and destabilize the Middle East instead of helping its people. The United States has also repeatedly condemned systemic financial corruption and the plundering of Iran’s natural resources by regime officials and has identified them as among the primary causes of Iran’s economic and financial problems.
Recently, Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, tweeted about Islamic Republic officials, saying they became involved in corruption instead of helping the people.
Source: Voice of America
