Mokhtar Zarei, Journalist from Sanandaj, Sentenced to Prison Again in New Case
“Mokhtar Zarei”, a civil activist from Sanandaj who was previously sentenced to three years in prison, has been sentenced to one year in prison by the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court in a new case.
The Campaign to Defend Political and Civil Prisoners reported on Monday, July 22, that “Mokhtar Zarei”, a civil activist from Sanandaj, has been sentenced to one year in prison by the First Branch of the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Saidi, on the charge of “propaganda against the system.”
An informed source told the campaign that the court had held hearings regarding the charge of “assembly and conspiracy leading to disruption of public security”, but based on the arguments of the defendant’s lawyer during the court session, Mr. Zarei was acquitted of this charge. However, in the same session, the charge of “propaganda against the system” was read to him, and the head of the First Branch of the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court issued a one-year prison sentence for this civil activist.
According to the report, Mokhtar Zarei’s defense lawyer has objected to the issued sentence, and the case has been referred to the Kurdistan Province Court of Appeals for review and issuance of a final ruling.
This civil activist from Sanandaj was previously sentenced by the Second Branch of the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court to two years in prison for the charge of “insulting the Leader of the Islamic Republic” and to one year in prison for the charge of “propaganda against the system.” According to Maziar Tataei, the lawyer of this civil activist, the basis of the verdict is a letter that Mr. Mokhtar Zarei had written to the leadership in April 2018, in which he critically addressed the necessity of reforms in methods and policies in order to establish democracy and requested such changes.
Mokhtar Zarei was previously sentenced in absentia on December 3 to one year in prison for the charge of “propaganda against the system” and to two years in prison for the charge of “insulting the Leader of the Islamic Republic.”
In February of last year, Amnesty International in a report called 2018 the “Year of Shame” for the Islamic Republic and announced that in that year, 11 lawyers, 50 journalists and media activists, 91 students, 112 women’s rights activists, 63 environmental activists, 467 workers, more than 200 members of the Gonabadi Dervishes, 171 Christians, and 95 Baha’is were arrested in Iran.
Source: Voice of America
