HRANA – Political prisoners Zohreh Sarv and Neda Fotoohi, held in Qarchak Varamin Prison, are now facing a new case filed against them at the Tehran Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office.

According to information received by HRANA, a recent power outage in Qarchak Prison led some inmates to chant protest slogans. In the aftermath, Branch 39 of the Tehran Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office opened a new case against Sarv and Fotoohi, accusing them of “insulting the Supreme Leader.”

In July of this year, Sarv’s six-year prison sentence was upheld in full after the Supreme Court approved her retrial request and the case was re-examined by another branch of the Revolutionary Court. Earlier, Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court had sentenced her to a total of seven years in prison on charges of “assembly and collusion” and “propaganda against the regime.” Under Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, six years of that sentence remain enforceable.

In October last year, Sarv’s request for conditional release was once again denied, despite the fact that, including her pre-trial detention, she had already served more than one-third of her sentence.

Zohreh Sarv, 39, and active on social media under the name “Mah Far”, was arrested by security forces in August 2022. She has previously faced arrest and conviction.

Neda Fotoohi was also tried by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Iman Afshari. She was sentenced to a total of six years and eight months in prison on charges including “propaganda against the regime,” “membership in the Erfan-e Halgheh group,” and “assembly and collusion against national security” through attending and encouraging others to attend protests related to Mahsa Amini and her anniversary. This political prisoner, a resident of Tehran, was arrested by security forces in October 2023.