Amnesty International Calls for Release of Shahnaaz Akmali
Amnesty International released a statement calling for the immediate release of Shahnaaz Akmali, mother of Mostafa Karim Beigi, one of those killed in protests following the 2008 elections, who is currently serving her sentence in Evin Prison.
Amnesty International announced on Friday, December 27, that Shahnaaz Akmali is a prisoner of conscience who has been imprisoned solely for peaceful human rights activities in the pursuit of justice, supporting families of those killed in 2008 protests, and defending imprisoned civil and political activists.
The human rights organization called on the Islamic Republic authorities to annul Akmali’s conviction and release her immediately and unconditionally.
According to Amnesty International, after Mostafa Karim Beigi’s mother met with the family of Pouya Bakhtiari, one of those killed in November protests, she received a summons from the first branch of the criminal sentences execution office of the General and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of Shahid Mogaddas in Tehran. According to the summons, she was ordered to report to Evin Prison to serve a one-year sentence—a verdict issued by one of the Revolutionary Court branches on the charge of “propaganda against the system” and confirmed by the appeals court.
In another section of the statement, Amnesty International stated that it has consistently urged Iranian authorities to fulfill the legitimate demands of grieving and suffering families for truth and justice, instead of targeting them, and to try and punish those responsible for killing protesters without resorting to execution and in accordance with fair trial principles.
Ms. Akmali, who spent the past 10 years seeking justice and finding those responsible for killing her son, was convicted on charges of “propaganda activity against the system” to one year of imprisonment, banned from leaving the country, banned from political activities, and banned from participation in cyberspace. On Wednesday, December 25, she left for Evin Prison to serve her sentence.
Her son, Mostafa Karim Beigi, was shot in the head and killed on the sixth of December 2008, during protests against the presidential election results, which coincided with Ashura.
According to reports, security authorities handed over his body to his family on the condition that his burial take place outside Tehran, away from his place of residence, and that no one except his father, mother, and sister attend the ceremony. Mostafa’s body was buried in Shahriyar long after his death.
It is worth noting that the U.S. State Department has repeatedly condemned violent crackdowns and widespread suppression of protesters, as well as the continuous and repeated violations of Iranian citizens’ rights by the regime governing that country.
Source: Voice of America
