Court of Appeals Upholds One-Year Prison Sentence for Mother of 2009 Protests Victim

The one-year imprisonment sentence for Shahrnaz Akamali, mother of Mostafa Karimbeigi who was killed during the 2009 Ashura protests, has been upheld exactly as ruled by the Court of Appeals.

Maryam Karimbeigi, daughter of Shahrnaz Akamali, announced on Monday, September 30, on her Twitter page that the court of appeals confirmed her mother’s one-year prison sentence. Voice of America cannot independently verify this news.

Ms. Karimbeigi wrote: “My mother’s sentence was upheld exactly as ruled by the court of appeals. This sentence was upheld while my brother’s murder case is gathering dust in the same Evin prosecutor’s office where my mother’s case was filed. It is not expected that my brother Mostafa’s killer is in prison, not my mother for seeking justice.”

Shahrnaz Akamali had previously been sentenced by one branch of the Revolutionary Court to one year in prison and a ban from using social media.

Ms. Akamali, who over the past 10 years has continuously sought justice and pursued those responsible for her son’s death, was convicted on charges of “propaganda activity against the system” to one year imprisonment, a ban on leaving the country, a ban on political activities, and a ban from using social media.

Her son, Mostafa Karimbeigi, was shot in the head and killed on the sixth day of the Iranian month of Dey in 2008, which coincided with Ashura, during protests against the results of the presidential election.

According to reports, security officials handed over his body to the family on the condition that his burial be held outside of Tehran, away from his residence, and that no one except his father, mother, and sister attend the ceremony. Mostafa’s body was buried in Shahriar weeks 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 repeated and continuous violations of Iranian citizens’ rights by the regime governing that country.

Source: Voice of America