Continued Suppression of Civil Activists in Iran; Nasser Ashjerī Māherī Sentenced to Prison
Nasser Ashjerī Māherī, a civil activist, has been sentenced to six months in prison by the Revolutionary Court.
Mohammad Moqīmī, the defense attorney of Nasser Ashjerī Māherī, announced on Monday, May 12, through his Telegram channel that the civil activist was sentenced to six months in prison by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court on charges of “assembly and conspiracy to commit crimes against domestic and foreign security.”
According to this legal counsel, “insulting the Prophet of Islam” and “propaganda against the system” were two other charges against the civil activist, from which the Islamic Revolutionary Court acquitted him.
Nasser Ashjerī Māherī, confirming this news on his Facebook page and referring to his visits and condolences to the families of the deceased, including those killed in the events following the 2009 presidential election, cited these visits as reasons for his six-month prison sentence and said: “I am far too insignificant for national security to be endangered by my powerless hands. No, absolutely not. My only intention was to offer sympathy to the oppressed. I drank a cup of tea in the home of an oppressed person just to give them a moment of comfort.”
Mohammad Moqīmī also pointed out that his client suffers from diabetes and advanced age, stating that he is unable to endure imprisonment, and expressed hope that this unjust sentence will be overturned in the appeal phase and Mr. Ashjerī Māherī will be acquitted.
According to available information, Nasser Ashjerī Māherī was arrested in December 2016 following a raid by Ministry of Intelligence agents on his residence. After a house search and confiscation of personal items including a computer and mobile phone, he was released on bail on March 24, 2017, pending the completion of his trial from Evin Prison.
This is not the first time a civil activist has been sentenced to prison. Recently, the six-year prison sentence of Rezvaneh Ahmad Khanbigī, a civil activist imprisoned in Iran who is serving his sentence in prison, was upheld in full by Branch 36 of the Tehran Provincial Court of Appeal, headed by Judge Zargar, after rejecting the activist’s objection and appeal.
The United States has repeatedly condemned violent conduct and widespread suppression of protesters and civil activists in various instances, as well as the repeated and continuous violation of Iranian citizens’ rights by the regime governing that country.
Source: Voice of America
