Abbas Lisani's sentence "doubled" in the appeals court
The prison sentence of Azerbaijani (Turkish) activist Abbas Lesani, previously issued by the Ardabil Revolutionary Court, was doubled in the appeals court.
An informed source told VOA that the 8-year prison sentence of imprisoned civil activist Abbas Lisani, which was issued by Branch 1 of the Ardabil Revolutionary Court, headed by Judge Khodadadi, was increased to 15 years by Nasser Atbati, head of Branch 1 of the Ardabil Court of Appeals.
This informed source told VOA that Mr. Lesani was sentenced to 10 years in prison and two years in exile in Yazd for the charge of "forming a group with the intention of disrupting the country's security," and to five years in prison for the charge of "acting against national security" and "inciting and encouraging the Turkish ethnic groups in West Azerbaijan province through speeches and interviews with media hostile to the regime."
These sentences were issued despite the fact that, according to Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, which stipulates the aggregation of sentences, only 10 years of this sentence will be enforceable as the maximum punishment for the charge of "forming a group with the intention of disrupting the security of the country."
The appeals court of this civil activist was held on September 15th, with the presence of the court's advisors, Bilal Mozaffari and Merhamat Shahbazzadeh, and the verdict was delivered on Tuesday, October 29th to his lawyer, Abbas Lisani.
This civil activist was previously arrested on January 5, 2018, to serve a ten-month prison sentence issued by the second branch of the Tabriz Revolutionary Court on charges of "propaganda activities against the regime in favor of groups opposed to the regime." He was transferred to Tabriz Prison. However, after filing a written objection to the trial process and his objection was accepted by the second branch of the Tabriz Revolutionary Court, he was temporarily released on Monday, January 7, 2018, after posting a bail of 100 million Tomans, and was arrested again on January 6, 2018, after a court session.
Mr. Lesani's appeal court in this case was held on April 14, 2019, in Branch 26 of the East Azerbaijan Provincial Court of Appeal, and the ten-month prison sentence issued by Judge Mikael Khobiarpour was upheld in its entirety.
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
