Six-Month to One-Year Prison Sentences for Women Arrested During Mordad Protests; Criticism of Reformists’ Silence

The judiciary has issued sentences of six months to one year in prison for women arrested during the Mordad protests. Families of those detained in Mordad earlier this year announced in front of Tehran’s City Theater that they have recently received sentences of six months to one year imprisonment for their children. They are criticizing the fact that some reformist media outlets have refrained from publishing news about their children.

The nationwide Mordad 1397 protests occurred in various Iranian cities in relation to rising prices and inflation, and women participated in these demonstrations.

“Yasmin Aryani,” age 23, and “Saba Kardafshari,” age 19, are among the arrested women, and Saba’s mother announced on Instagram about her daughter’s one-year sentence.

Yasmin Aryani, who before her arrest had repeatedly posted videos expressing her opposition to mandatory hijab, published a film during her detention showing herself and several others from inside a police van on Instagram. However, some other detainees were only protesting the current situation.

Yasmin Aryani’s mother also criticized the conduct of journalists inside Iran in covering the detention of women through a video posted on Instagram.

She said her daughter was arrested in front of the City Theater while helping another woman who had been subjected to violence by police officers, and approximately 75 days have now passed since her arrest.

It is reported that the arrested individuals were transferred from Qarchak Varamin prison to Evin prison.

Families of the detainees gathered in front of the Revolutionary Court multiple times on 24 Mehr and demanded the release of their children.

The Iranian government in recent years has demonstrated through widespread arrests and issuing harsh sentences against protesting women that it treats not only these women but also women’s rights advocates with severe force.

Farhad Meisami is one of these individuals who was arrested at his workplace in Mordad of this year for wearing badges with the slogan “I do not agree with mandatory hijab” and charged with conspiracy and assembly with intent to disturb national security by inciting women to appear on streets “bareheaded,” spreading propaganda against the system, and insulting the hijab as one of the necessary Islamic sacred values.

Likewise, Nasrin Sotoudeh, a prominent human rights lawyer, was transferred to prison after speaking about several of her clients who had been arrested for protesting mandatory hijab.

The Islamic Republic’s judicial treatment of women in relation to their civil protests has provoked international surprise and reactions. For example, Amnesty International tweeted about Farhad Meisami’s arrest: “Do you think wearing a chest badge that says ‘I do not agree with mandatory hijab’ is a crime? Iranian authorities seem to think so.”

Source: Voice of America