Two Detainees from November Protests Sentenced to Long Prison Terms
Mohammad Javad Ahmadi and Aria Hamedirad, two detainees from the November protests, have been sentenced to a combined 12 years in prison by the Revolutionary Court.
According to the Iran Human Rights website, each of these two prisoners held in Tehran’s Grand Prison was sentenced on Wednesday, February 5, by Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, presided over by Iman Afshar, to 6 years in prison on charges of “propaganda against the system” and “assembly and conspiracy to undermine national security.”
According to the report, the judge’s reasoning for the 5-year prison sentence on the charge of “assembly and conspiracy to undermine national security” included issuing calls for other citizens to participate in November protest gatherings in support of those killed in these protests, as well as publishing anthems, poems, and epic music in support of protesting citizens at the November 1398 protest gatherings.
Based on available information, Mohammad Javad Ahmadi and Aria Hamedirad were arrested on November 19 by forces of the Quds Force’s Tharallah Camp in Tehran and were transferred to Ward 5 of Tehran’s Grand Prison after completing procedures.
Following the November protests and the detention of a number of Iranian citizens, 160 lawyers signed a letter addressed to Iran’s president, calling for an investigation into violence in suppressing this year’s November protesters and holding those responsible accountable.
Following the sudden spike in gasoline prices, Iran witnessed widespread public protests against the Islamic Republic. On Friday, November 15, following the sudden announcement of gasoline price increases, protests took place in various Iranian cities, and just one day after the protests began, the Islamic Republic cut off the internet almost entirely on Saturday night, November 16.
President Donald Trump on Thursday, November 21, made his first public statement regarding Iran’s protests, saying that Iran had become so unstable that the regime shut down its entire internet system so that Iran’s good people could not talk about the severe violence occurring inside that country.
The U.S. president also stated: “The protesters in Iran are seeking freedom, and we fully support them.”
Source: Voice of America
