On January 2, 2024, Kaveh Amiri was apprehended by security forces after his appearance at the Revolutionary Court in Shahriar.
A source close to his family verified Amiri’s arrest following his court appearance. Post-arrest, agents reportedly conducted searches at both his residence and his mother’s house.
The precise location of his current detention remains undisclosed.
Amiri’s initial arrest occurred on September 10 of the same year, after a summons and interrogation by the Security Police of Shahriar County. Within 24 hours, he was transferred to Evin Prison and subsequently released on bail on September 13.
Following legal proceedings, Amiri was later sentencedto eight months for “spreading propaganda against the regime,” a verdict that withstoodappeal.
At 39 years old, Amiri is a judo coach and resident of Shahriar. The circumstances surrounding his recent arrest and the charges brought against him remain a cause for concern.
The Tehran Court of Appeal has affirmed an eight-month sentence for Kaveh Amiri, a resident of Shahriar.
Amiri was found guilty of “spreading propaganda against the regime,” and the time served during his detention will be deducted from this prison term.
His arrest took place on September 10 of this year, following summons and interrogation by the Security Police of Shahriar County. Within one day, he was transferred to Evin Prison and subsequently released on bail on September 13.
Aged 39, Amiri is a judo coach and resident of Shahriar. The upheld sentence raises questions about the nature of the charges and the implications for freedom of expression.
The Shahriar Revolutionary Court has issued an eight-month prison sentence to Kaveh Amiri, aged 39.
Judge Barjesteh, who presided over the case, recently informed Amiri that he has been sentenced to eight months for “spreading propaganda against the regime,” including time served during detention. Notably, Amiri has been acquitted of the charge of “disturbing public opinion and endangering national security.”
On September 10, 2023, Amiri was summoned to the Shahriar Public Security Police, where he was subsequently arrested and held in Evin Prison following an interrogation. He was released on bail after three days.
Yashar Tabrizi (Akbar Gholizadeh), a civil rights advocate and former political prisoner, has been handed a one-year prison sentence by the Shahriar Revolutionary Court.
The presiding judge, Barjesteh, relayed to Tabrizi’s legal counsel that his client had been sentenced to a year behind bars for charges related to “propaganda against the regime.” A reliable source indicates that Tabrizi is awaiting an additional verdict from the Shahriar Criminal Court on the allegation of “spreading falsehood.”
Following his arrest in Tehran on June 10, 2023, Tabrizi was transported to Ward 209 of Evin Prison. He secured his release from Evin Prison on bail after a 14-day period, pending the conclusion of legal procedures.
This civil rights advocate has faced previous detentions and convictions due to his activism.
On August 23, yesterday, Hojatollah Rafei, a former political prisoner, was apprehended by intelligence agents of the IRGC in Shahriar, located in Tehran Province. He was subsequently moved to an undisclosed location.
A source close to Rafei’s family informed HRANA that IRGC intelligence agents had apprehended him at his residence. The agents also conducted a thorough search and confiscated some of his belongings.
Rafei, a teacher in Shahriar County, has faced arrests and convictions before for his activism. In February 2023, he was released from Evin Prison in February 2023, following his inclusion in the “general pardon and commutation” directive.
The Shahriar Revolutionary Court sentenced Tahereh Bajrovani, imprisoned in Evin Prison, to one and a half years. Bajrovani’s husband, Ali Fotoohi Koohsare, was killed by regime forces during the 2019–2020 Iranian protests.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Tahereh Bajrovani was sentenced to one year and six months in prison.
According to this verdict issued by the Shahriar Revolutionary Court, headed by Judge Esmail Barjesteh, Bajrovani was convicted of “insulting the Supreme Leader of Iran.”
On December 21, 2022, security forces arrested Bajrovani at her workplace in Tehran and took her to Ward 209 of Evin Prison. After 33 days of interrogation, she was relocated to the women’s ward of Evin Prison.
About Iran Nationwide Protests 2022
The arrest of Mahsa Amini by Tehran Morality Police for her alleged improper hejab and her suspicious death on September 16 sparked protests sweeping across Iran. During these protests, at least about 19760 people, including journalists, artists, lawyers, teachers, students and civil rights activists, were arrested.
On August 2, 2022, the one-year sentences of nine Baha’is were carried out in the form of home detention using an electronic monitoring device. Previously, the Revolutionary Court of Shahriar had sentenced each of the individuals to one year in prison. These verdicts were upheld on appeal.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, on July 2, 2022, nine Baha’i citizens, Hooman Khoshnam, Elham Salmanzadeh, Payam Shabani, Kianoosh Slamanzadeh Soroosh Agahi, Parvan Manavi, Jamileh Pakro, Peyman Manavi and Neda Shabani started serving their one-year sentence as home detention using the electronic monitoring device.
According to this verdict, these individuals can go up to 500 meters in the periphery of their residence, and they have to pay for the monitoring devices.
These individuals have been detained in Ward 209 of Evin Prison from September to December 2018, In August 2020, Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court of Shahriar convicted them for “propaganda against the regime through promoting the Baha’i faith.”
Recently, Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court of Shahriar sentenced former political prisoner Milad Arsanjani, who is currently detained in the Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary to 15 months in prison.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Milad Arsanjani was sentenced to nine months imprisonment on the charge of “offensive statements against the Supreme Leader of Iran” and six months on the charge of “propaganda against the regime”. If Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code is applied, nine months is the maximum punishment enforceable for Arsanjani.
On November 3, 2021, Arsanjani was arrested by security forces and on November 29, he was transferred to the Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary where he has been held since.
An informed source told HRANA that since the arrest, Arsanjani’s family has been under constant pressure by security agents to not disclose any information about his condition.
Milad Arsanjani had already faced another arrest for his civil activities. During the nationwide protests in 2019, he was arrested at his house in Shahriar City. Subsequently, Tehran’s Revolutionary Court sentenced him to two years imprisonment on the charge of “offensive statements against the Supreme Leader” and to five years imprisonment for the charge of “assembly and collusion”. During his trial, housing a person who was injured during the November 2019 protests was also used against him. On August 7, 2021, he was released from the Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary.
Iran’s Commander-in-Chief announced that two citizens have been arrested in Shahriar County in Tehran Province for chanting anti-regime slogans over a loudspeaker.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Mehr News Agency, the Commander-in-Chief stated that the citizens were “in some parts of the Shahriar City, chanting anti-regime slogans with small size loudspeakers. The police in Western Tehran began to investigate the case and subsequently, two citizens were arrested”.
According to this announcement, the police searched the house of the arrestees and confiscated some of their belongings, including flash memories, speakers, SIM cards and cell phones. The police did not reveal the identity of these citizens.
Earlier, in Bazar Reza in Mashhad, anti-regime slogans were shouted and one citizen was arrested by the IRGC Intelligence forces of Razavi Khorasan.
Protests have erupted across Iran after the government unexpectedly announced it is rationing petrol and increasing its price. The protests took place across the country following the decision of the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, at midnight of November 14, 2019, to cut petrol subsidies to raise funds for social assistance to the poor. Petrol price was increased to a minimum of 15,000 Rials per liter, 50% increase from the day before.
Nationwide protests in the last three days were in at least 48 cities such as: Ahvaz, Shooshtar, Dezful, Gachsaran, Abadan, Khorramshahr, Bandar Mahshahr, Rasht, Shiraz, Bandar Abbas, Gorgan, Khorramabad, Qom, Ilam, Karaj, Sanandaj, Dorud, Qazvin, Arak, Mahdi Shahr, Garmsar, Shahroud, Najafabad, Mariwan, Tehran, Tabriz, Ardabil, Urmia, Saveh, Pasargadae, Qods (Qal’eh Hasan Khan), Varamin, Sari, Yasuj, Qaemshahr, Shahrekord, Malek Shahr, Parand, Damavand, Pol Dokhtar, Neyshabur, Sarepol Zahab, Kahnooj, Yazd, Bandar Bushehr, Bahmai, Shahriar, etc. They are still ongoing in several cities.
Peaceful demonstrations turned violent in Sanandaj, Mahshahr, and Shiraz, with online videos purporting to show police officers firing teargas at protesters and mobs setting fires. Several people were injured or killed in the first three days of protests as a result of the police’s direct shots. On November 17, 2019, students of Tehran University and Tabriz University protested inside the university. Shops at Tehran Grand Bazaar went on strike on November 17, 2019.
The protests started on November 15, 2019, and are still ongoing. The arrest of more than 1000 people across the country was confirmed. More than 150 banks and supermarkets were set on fire and a police officer was killed. Two Hawzas -a seminary where Shi’a Muslim clerics are educated- were set on fire in Shiraz and Kazerun. According to unconfirmed reports, at least 36 people were killed in Sirjan, Shiraz, Behbahan, Marivan, Khoramshahr, Isfahan, and Shahriar.
According to Fars News, protests were held in 100 cities and at least 100 banks and 57 supermarkets were set on fire. Based on this report, the number of protesters were 87400 from which 82200 are men and 5200 women. At least 1000 people were arrested. Yazd prosecutor confirmed the arrest of 40 people in the city of Yazd. Bam Prosecutor also confirmed the arrest of 15 people in the city of Bam. The prosecutor of Robat Karim confirmed the arrest of 34 protesters for vandalism. According to Mohammad Reza Amoui, Kermanshah’s chief of Law Enforcement Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on November 16, Major Iraj Javaheri was killed fighting with protesters in Kermanshah. A journalist resided in Mariwan, Adnan Hasanpour, reported that security forces shot people directly and at least seven people were killed in Javanrud, one person was killed in Sanandaj, and several people were injured. According to unconfirmed reports, 15 of the killed people are identified as following:
Meisam Adgipour, Khaled Maniat, Ali Ghazlavy, Milad Hamidavi, Ali Boghlani, Hamzeh Savari, Mohammad Asafi Zargani, Ehsan Abdollahnejad, Mehdi Nikouei, Osman Naderi, Mehran Tak, Shahou Validi, Javad Nazari Fathabadi, Mehrdad Dashtizadeh, Mohammad Hossein Ghanavati.
Iran has almost completely shut off access to the internet across the country. On November 16, 2019, by the approval of the National Security Supreme Council, the government has completely blocked Internet access in Iran to stymie protests. Due to the internet shut down and the lack of access to freelance reporters and citizen journalists, confirming news about demonstrations and deaths is difficult. It also caused difficulty for Iranian citizens to have access to news agencies websites. On Monday, November 18, schools are closed in 17 cities across Iran:
Shiraz, Kazerun, Alborz, Fereydun, Fereydun Shahr, Farsan, Kuhrang, Laran, Taleqan, Astara, and Najafabad. In addition, universities are closed in Shiraz.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has backed petrol price increases claiming opponents of the Islamic Republic and foreign enemies were guilty of sabotage and not ordinary people. According to Khabar Online, Mojtaba Zonnour, a parliament member representing Qom, is collecting parliament members signatures to impeach Ali Larijani, the head of parliament. He gathered 50 signatures so far. Mohammad Qasim Osmani, a parliament member representing Bukan, filed his resignation and added that he resigned to announce that he was not involved in this decision [raising petrol price]. Today, with respect to Ayatollah Khamenei’s views, the Ministry of Intelligence announced that the protesters will face harsh punishments. Reportedly, people received threatening text messages in Khuzestan and Karaj from the prosecutor’s offices of their province. People were warned about attending protests and not to disturb public order and facilitate the abuse of opposition groups.
