Continued repression of civil activists in Iran; Ruhollah Mirzaei sentenced to 2 years in prison
Ruhollah Mirzaei, a civil activist from Ilam, was sentenced to two years in prison by the Revolutionary Court.
According to the Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners, Branch 23 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Rouhollah Mirzaei to two years in prison on charges of “insulting the leadership and propagating against the regime in cyberspace.” The sentence was announced to the civil activist on Sunday, October 4.
Rouhollah Mirzaei was arrested by security agents on May 20, 2019, and after spending time in interrogation in Ward 209 of Evin Prison, he was temporarily released from Evin Prison on June 25, 2019, after posting bail pending the completion of the trial.
According to the issued judgment, this sentence was issued to Mr. Mirzaei based on the registration of the "report of the law enforcement authority and routine investigations and the printed images in the file" pursuant to Article 514 of the Islamic Penal Code.
Article 514 of the Islamic Penal Code states that insulting the founder and leader of the Islamic Republic will result in a sentence of six months to two years.
Previously, a student activist named Fereshteh Toosi was sentenced to 18 months in prison by Branch 36 of the Tehran Provincial Court of Appeal on charges of "propaganda against the regime through participation in the special Student Day program of the Islamic Association of Free-thinking Students of this university."
According to a report by Amnesty International, in 2018, more than seven thousand people, including participants in demonstrations, students, journalists, women's rights activists, environmental activists, labor activists, and ethnic and religious minority rights activists, were arrested in Iran, and hundreds were sentenced to prison.
The US State Department has repeatedly and on various occasions condemned the violent confrontations and widespread repression of protesters, as well as the repeated and persistent violations of the rights of Iranian citizens by the ruling regime in that country.
Source: Voice of America
