Reza Mehregan, one of the signatories of the petition calling for Khamenei's resignation, was sentenced to prison and flogging.
Reza Mehregan, one of the signatories of the letter calling for the resignation of Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, was sentenced to 7 years in prison and 74 lashes by the Revolutionary Court.
Ali Sharifzadeh, Reza Mehregan's defense lawyer, announced on his Instagram page that the imprisoned civil activist has been sentenced by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court, headed by Judge Iman Afshari, to seven years in prison, 74 lashes, and two years of exile to the village of Jafarabad in the Arian district of South Khorasan Province, on charges such as "gathering and colluding against the regime," "propaganda against the regime," and "disturbing public order and peace."
This sentence was issued to Mr. Mehregan at a time when, if confirmed, and based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code regarding the consolidation of sentences, only 5 years of this sentence will be enforceable.
The lawyer also announced on his Instagram that the civil activist was sentenced to 5 years in prison for the charge of gathering and collusion, one year in prison for propaganda against the regime, and one year in prison, 74 lashes, and 2 years of exile to the village of Jafarabad in the Arian region of South Khorasan as additional punishment for the charge of disturbing public order and peace.
Previously, Voice of America reported that Reza Mehregan, one of the signatories of the letter calling for the resignation of Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, was arrested on Wednesday, September 26, when agents from the Ramsar City Intelligence Department went to his residence in a village in the Ramsar City area, searched his home, and confiscated a number of personal belongings, including a cell phone.
The imprisoned civil activist, Zartasht Ahmadi-Ragheb, Mohammad Reza Bayat, Kamal Jafari Yazdi, Hashem Khastar, Mohammad Hossein Sepehri, Gohar Eshghi (mother of Sattar Beheshti), Hourieh Farajzadeh (sister of Shahram Farajzadeh, one of those killed in the 2009 protests), Mohammad Karimbeigi, Javad Lal-Mohammadi, Mohammad Maleki, Mohammad Mahdavifar, Mohammad Nourizad, and Abbas Vahedian Shahroudi were the signatories of the letter calling for Khamenei's resignation.
In mid-August of this year, 14 female civil activists, considering the inequalities and problems of women in Iran, published a letter calling for the Islamic Republic to be abolished and a new constitution to be drafted.
Shahla Entesari, Nosrat Beheshti, Fereshteh Rezati, Parva (Sekineh) Pachideh, Giti Pourfazel, Ezzat Javadi-Hesar, Zahra Jamali, Shahla Jahanbin, Fatemeh Sepehri, Maryam Soleimani, Susan Taherkhani, Farangis Mazloum, Narges Mansouri, and Kimia Norouzi-Saber were the signatories of this letter.
Earlier, the Islamic Republic's security officials had accused the signatories of these letters of trying to "plan a new sedition." Many of the signatories of these two letters have been arrested in recent days.
International human rights organizations and the United States government have accused the Islamic Republic of violating freedom of expression and suppressing civil activists, and have called for the release of journalists who have been imprisoned simply for carrying out their duties and careers.
The US State Department also says that the Iranian regime has arrested thousands of protesters, civil activists, representatives of workers and other trade unions in the last two years.
Source: Voice of America
