Pressure continues on critical students; Soha Mortezaei sentenced to 6 years in prison
Soha Mortezaei, a star student at the University of Tehran and secretary of the university's Central Student Union Council, who had been arrested since late November 2019, has been sentenced to 6 years in prison.
Mustafa Nili, Soha Mortezai's lawyer, announced on his Twitter page that his client had been notified of the verdict issued by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, and wrote that based on this verdict, Soha Mortezai had been sentenced to 6 years in prison for "accusing her of gathering and colluding with the intention of acting against the security of the country."
He added that the sit-in at Tehran University in protest against being awarded a star, the protests at Tehran University in November last year, and her activity in the university's trade union council are examples of Ms. Mortezaei's accusations.
The Telegram channel of the Iranian Student Union Councils also wrote, noting that this ruling was issued in a situation where the country's universities are in a semi-closed state due to the possibility of the spread of the coronavirus, "With the safe margin created for the repressive apparatus during the security closure of universities and the Second Cultural Revolution, students are being suppressed in silence."
Soha Mortezaei was arrested in a student dormitory on the sidelines of public protests on November 17 and transferred to an unknown location. Prior to her arrest, she had been holding a sit-in in front of the Central Library of Tehran University for more than ten days, holding a placard, following her ban from pursuing a doctoral degree.
He was previously arrested during the protests in January 2017 and sentenced in September of last year by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court to six years in prison and a two-year ban from membership in political parties and groups.
This student's exclusion from education comes at a time when one of Hassan Rouhani's campaign promises during the presidential election was to return star-rated students to education.
Source: Voice of America
