Category: Freedom of Expression

Appeals Court; Physician Bayan Salehian Sentenced to Prison and Fine

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Freedom of Expression, News
Bayan Salehian, HRANA, Urmia, بیان صالحیان

HRANA News Agency – Branch 9 of the West Azerbaijan Province Court of Appeals has upheld the prison and monetary fine sentence against Bayan Salehian, a physician residing in Urmia.

A source close to her family told HRANA, “According to the verdict issued by Branch 9 of the West Azerbaijan Appeals Court and delivered to Ms. Salehian in April, she has been sentenced to five months in prison and a paying a fine for ‘spreading false information with the intent to disturb public opinion on social media.”

Earlier, in January 2025, the Shahid Beheshti Complex’s Second Criminal Court in Urmia had issued the initial verdict sentencing Ms. Salehian to prison and a fine.

In a separate part of this case, the Urmia Revolutionary Court had previously sentenced her to pay a fine for “propaganda against the regime.”

Security forces from the Intelligence Protection Unit of Urmia’s Law Enforcement Command arrested Ms. Salehian in October 2024. They released her after several hours of interrogation and confiscated her mobile phone.

Bayan Salehian, a physician based in Urmia, has a prior record of arrest and conviction.

Appeals Court Upholds 11-Year Prison Sentence for Hamid Bidar

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Freedom of Expression, News
AmirKabir, Hamid Bidar, Mahmoud Momtazpour, Tehran Province Court of Appeals, حمید بیدار

HRANA News Agency – The 11-year prison sentence for Hamid Bidar, a graduate of Iran University of Science and Technology, has been fully upheld by Branch 36 of the Tehran Province Court of Appeals.

Hossein Taj, Bidar’s attorney, stated that his client received an 11-year prison sentence on charges including blasphemy, insulting the Supreme Leader, and propaganda against the regime. The initial verdict was handed down by Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court and was recently upheld in full by Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals. According to Taj, five years of the sentence are enforceable.

Hamid Bidar, a computer engineering graduate of Iran University of Science and Technology, was arrested by security forces in Tehran on September 1, 2024.

According to the AmirKabir Newsletter, his arrest was linked to his support for Mahmoud Momtazpour, a dismissed assistant professor at Amirkabir University of Technology.

Previously, in 2013, Bidar was also suspended for two semesters by the university’s disciplinary committee, with the suspension counting against his academic years.

Gelareh Abbasi Sentenced to Prison

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Freedom of Expression, News
Evin Prison, Gelareh Abbasi, Iman Afshari, گلاره عباسی

HRANA News Agency – Gelareh Abbasi, a political defendant, has been sentenced to 51 months in prison by Branch 23 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, the court sentenced Abbasi to a total of four years and three months on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security” and “propaganda against the regime.”

Abbasi was arrested on February 16, 2025, at her home in western Tehran by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and transferred to Evin Prison. She was released from Evin Prison on March 28, 2025, after posting a bail of one billion tomans.

Earlier, in a separate case, Abbasi had been sentenced by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, to two years and six months in prison for “assembly and collusion against national security.” After serving several months, she was released from Evin in February 2023.

Gelareh Abbasi, 48, is the mother of a young daughter and the head of her household.

Summons and Arrest of a Sunni Cleric in Kermanshah

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Freedom of Expression, News, Religious Minorities
Ayat Gholami, HRANA, Kermanshah

HRANA News Agency – Yesterday, April 23, Ayat Gholami, a Sunni cleric, was arrested after being summoned to and appearing before the Special Clergy Court in Kermanshah.

According to HRANA, quoting Kurdpa, Ayat Gholami was taken into custody following his appearance at the Special Clergy Court in Kermanshah. As of now, no information has been released regarding the reasons for his arrest, his place of detention, or the charges brought against him.

Ayat Gholami is the former imam of a mosque in Kermanshah and a teacher at a religious school.

Teachers’ Union Activist Mansoureh Erfanian Sentenced to Prison

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Freedom of Expression, Labor and Guilds, News
Mansoureh Erfanian, Mashhad, Vakilabad prison

HRANA News Agency – Mansoureh Erfanian, a teachers’ union activist, has been sentenced to three months in prison by Branch 4 of the Mashhad Revolutionary Court.

The verdict, issued by Branch 4 of the Mashhad Revolutionary Court, was officially communicated to Ms. Erfanian on Tuesday, April 21, 2025. She was sentenced to three months in prison on the charge of “propaganda against the regime” through the publication of content on social media. According to the ruling, she was acquitted of the charge of “assembly and collusion against national security.”

Ms. Erfanian was previously arrested by security forces in October 2023 and released a week later from Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad after posting bail.

Mansoureh Erfanian, a teachers’ union activist based in Mashhad, has a prior record of arrest due to her activism.

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Hossein Ramezanpour Sentenced to Two Years in Prison

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Freedom of Expression, Labor and Guilds, News
Bojnurd, Hossein Ramezanpour, حسین رمضانپور

HRANA News Agency – Hossein Ramezanpour, a union activist and a member of the board of directors of the North Khorasan Teachers’ Trade Association, has been sentenced to two years in prison by Branch 105 of the Criminal Court Two of Bojnord County.

According to the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations, Mr. Ramezanpour was sentenced to two years in prison by Branch 105 of the Criminal Court Two of Bojnurd County on the charge of “spreading falsehoods with the intent to disturb public opinion.”

Ramezanpour is a union activist and a member of the board of directors of the North Khorasan Teachers’ Trade Association. He has a history of security-related confrontations and, in October 2024, his previous sentence — which he was serving outside of prison with an electronic ankle monitor — was converted to an open prison sentence.

Yashar Tabrizi Sentenced to Over 5 Years in Prison

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Freedom of Expression, News
aKBAR gHOLIZADEH, irgc, Shahriar, Shahriar Revolutionary Court

Civil rights activist Yashar Tabrizi has been sentenced to five years and eight months in prison by Branch 2 of the Tabriz Revolutionary Court.

Branch 2 of the Tabriz Revolutionary Court sentenced Mr. Tabrizi to three years and seven months in prison for disrupting national security through supporting the Zionist regime. He was also sentenced to one year and five months for insulting the Supreme Leader, and eight months for propaganda against the regime.

Another part of Mr. Tabrizi’s case, concerning the charge of insulting religious sanctities, has been referred to Branch 2 of the Tabriz Criminal Court for further proceedings.

Mr. Tabrizi was released from Tabriz Prison on bail in February 2025. He had been arrested on November 19, 2024, after appearing at the Intelligence Department of the IRGC in Tabriz.

In September 2024, Yashar Tabrizi was also sentenced by the Shahriar Revolutionary Court to one year in prison for propaganda against the regime in connection with another case.

Akbar Gholizadeh (known as Yashar Tabrizi), the civil activist, has previously faced arrest and judicial actions due to his activities.

Kaveh Amiri Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison

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Freedom of Expression, News
HRANA, Kaveh Amiri, کاوه امیری

HRANA News Agency – Kaveh Amiri, a citizen residing in Shahriar, has been sentenced to two years in prison by the Revolutionary Court of this city. The sentence has been suspended for five years.

Branch 1 of the Shahriar Revolutionary Court sentenced Mr. Amiri to two years in prison on charges of insulting the Supreme Leader and propaganda against the regime. However, the sentence has been suspended for five years.

Kaveh Amiri, a resident of Shahriar, was arrested on January 20, 2025, after being summoned to the Security Police of this city. He was released from Evin Prison eight days later after posting bail.

In October 2023, Amiri was sentenced by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Shahriar to eight months in prison for “propaganda against the regime,” a sentence later upheld by Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals. He was arrested on January 2, 2024, to serve his prison sentence and was granted conditional release from Evin Prison in May 2024.

Mr. Amiri is also facing another legal case in Branch 108 of the Revolutionary Court of Shahriar on charges of “disturbing public opinion.”

Kaveh Amiri, 40, is a judo coach and a resident of Shahriar.

Appeals Court Upholds Prison Sentence for Mehran Arzhang Mofrad

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Freedom of Expression, News
Freedom Movement of Iran, Mehran Arzhang Mofrad, Razavi Khorasan

HRANA News Agency – The prison sentence of Mehran Arzhang Mofrad, a resident of Mashhad, has been upheld in full by Branch 26 of the Razavi Khorasan Province Court of Appeals.

He had previously been sentenced to four years and eight months in prison by Branch 1 of the Mashhad Revolutionary Court. Three years of his sentence have been suspended for a period of four years.

According to the verdict issued on April 14, 2025, by Branch 26 of the Razavi Khorasan Court of Appeals, Mr. Mofrad was sentenced to three years in prison on the charge of “membership in groups opposing the regime” and to 20 months for “propaganda against the regime.” Three years of the sentence have been suspended for four years.

The original ruling was issued on March 9, 2025, by Branch 1 of the Mashhad Revolutionary Court.

The charges against him stem from allegations of membership in the Freedom Movement of Iran and participation in their meetings.

Poet Faramarz Se-Dehi Sentenced to Over 22 Months in Prison

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Freedom of Expression, News
Faramarz Se-Dehi, irgc, IRGC Intelligence, Khuzestan, Mahshahr, فرامرز سه دهی

HRANA News Agency – Faramarz Se-Dehi, a poet and member of the Iranian Writers’ Association, has been sentenced to more than 22 months in prison by Branch 1 of the Mahshahr Revolutionary Court.

According to the verdict issued on April 13, 2025, Mr. Se-Dehi was sentenced to seven and a half months in prison on the charge of “propaganda against the regime” and 15 months for “insulting the Supreme Leader.” Under the principle of enforcing the severest punishment, the 15-month sentence will be carried out.

Earlier, on February 18, 2025, Mr. Se-Dehi was formally charged at Branch 2 of the Behbahan Prosecutor’s Office and subsequently released on bail. He had been summoned to the prosecutor’s office following a notice issued on February 12, 2025.

On January 9, 2025, Mr. Se-Dehi was arrested at his private residence by IRGC intelligence agents. He was released after several hours, but during the arrest, the agents searched his home and confiscated his mobile phone and books.

Faramarz Se-Dehi, a Khuzestan-based poet and a member of the Iranian Writers’ Association, has previously faced legal action in connection with his activities.