Court hearing to hear Sepideh Qolyan's charges

Yesterday, Sunday, August 6, a court hearing was held to hear Sepideh Qolyan's charges.

Sepideh Gholian, a civil activist who is serving her sentence in Evin Prison, had a case opened against her based on a complaint filed by Ameneh Sadat Zabihpour, an interrogator for the Iranian Broadcasting Corporation (IRBC). The court hearing on this case was held in closed session in Branch 1207 of the Criminal Court of Shahid Kachhui Judicial Complex in Tehran on Sunday, August 6.

Sepideh Gholian, along with her defense attorney Amir Raisian, appeared in court and defended herself in connection with the complaint filed by Amine Zabihpour, who had accused her of "disturbing public opinion by spreading lies in cyberspace" and "accusing her of propaganda activities against the regime in cyberspace."

This was the second court hearing in the case. The first hearing, which was supposed to be held in public and broadcast live, was not held due to the lack of observance of the hijab.

Amir Raisian, Sepideh Gholian's defense attorney, said regarding this hearing: "We presented our explanations and announced our request to the court to fix the shortcomings of the investigation. Now we are waiting for the court to make its decisions on this matter. The only decision that has been made to the legal representative who was introduced by the plaintiff and announced to us is that a new trial will be held and the plaintiff, Ms. Zabihpour, must necessarily attend the trial."