Imprisonment and Restrictions for Student Activist Over Opposition to Death Penalty
A student at Allameh Tabataba’i University has been sentenced to one year in prison for participating in Women’s Day celebrations and opposing the death penalty. Hasti Amiri has also been banned from using a mobile phone and membership in political parties for two years.
Hasti Amiri, a student at Allameh Tabataba’i University and student activist at the institution, was convicted by Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court on charges of “propaganda against the regime” to one year of imprisonment and banned from participating in student gatherings except for mandatory classes.
In a tweet published on Monday, March 12, by Amir Raisian, Hasti Amiri’s lawyer, while announcing his client’s conviction, the charges against Ms. Amiri included a photo of her participation in the March 8 (International Women’s Day) ceremony last year and her criticism and opposition to the death penalty.
Raisian also reported “supplementary punishments” to which Ms. Amiri was sentenced, including “confiscation of the mobile phone in use, prohibition of membership in parties, groups and political and social organizations (inside and outside cyberspace) for two years.”
Ms. Amiri’s arrest took place on December 9 at the Evin Prosecutor’s Office. Five days before this date, security forces entered the student’s family home and, due to her absence, informed her family that she should report to Branch 2 of the Evin Prosecutor’s Office on December 9.
In the charge notification session, Hasti Amiri faced charges such as “assembly and conspiracy to disturb security” and “propaganda activities against the regime,” but she was released on a 500 million toman bail until the trial session.
Later, the court acquitted her of the first charge but imposed a total sentence of one year imprisonment and “supplementary punishment” for the two mentioned charges.
Hasti Amiri responded to the verdict in a tweet, writing: “Not only must I go to prison for one year, but for two years I must endure university as a prison. This means I have no right to attend any student gatherings except mandatory classes. Moreover, according to the verdict issued, my mobile phone will be confiscated as an instrument of crime and I have no right to participate in any virtual or non-virtual gathering.”
Regarding the specifics of the charges brought against her by the judiciary, she referred to a photo taken on March 8 at the entrance of Allameh University with her companions. The second charge also concerns points she wrote on Twitter in defense of the right to life and opposition to death sentences.
News of Ms. Amiri’s conviction due to opposition to the death penalty was published on the same day that various Iranian authorities and institutions were attacking and criticizing Saudi Arabia for carrying out widespread executions on Saturday.
The “Human Rights Headquarters of the Judiciary” in a statement accused Saudi Arabia of “widespread violation of human rights and abuse of power in its territory,” and President Ibrahim Raisi said that “the silence of countries claiming to support human rights in the face of the execution of innocents is condemnable.” This comes while Iran itself faces widespread criticism from human rights organizations and bodies and human rights defenders both inside and outside the country regarding widespread executions in the first decade of the revolution and the continued implementation of this punishment, even against minors. The Islamic Republic is consistently among the top three countries in the world with the highest number of executions.
Source: DW
