The lawyer of Maryam Akbari Monfared, a political prisoner whose siblings were executed by Iran’s regime and who had previously been sentenced to 15 years in prison, says Iranian regime officials have opened a new case against her a few months before the end of her sentence.
According to Akbari Monfared’s lawyer, this prisoner has not been granted a single day of leave during this period.
Hossein Taj told the news site Shargh: “In October 2024, Ms. Akbari Monfared’s 15-year prison sentence in the first case will end. During this time, she has not been granted a single day of leave. Ms. Akbari Monfared has also been sentenced to two years in prison in another case. Recently, a new case has been formed against her based on a request from the Headquarters for the Follow-up and Supervision of Cases Related to Article 49 of the Constitution.”
Hossein Taj added: “In the claims made by this headquarter, allegations have been made against Ms. Akbari Monfared’s family and relatives. This headquarters has requested the seizure and acquisition of the Akbari Monfared family’s assets and those of her relatives for the benefit of the ‘Executive Headquarters of Imam’s Directive.’ This case has been referred to Branch 6 of the Revolutionary Court, which is specifically responsible for cases related to Article 49 of the Constitution. The trial date for this case has not yet been determined, and only a monitoring date has been set for August.”
He says, according to current laws in the Iranian regime, “Punishment should only be applied to the individual and not extend to their relatives.”
It has previously been reported multiple times that Iranian regime officials have opened new cases against political prisoners nearing the end of their sentences to extend their prison terms.
In September 2023, it was reported that the Semnan Criminal Court sentenced Maryam Akbari Monfared to an additional two years of “ta’zir” imprisonment and a fine of 150 million rials for “spreading lies in cyberspace” in a new case.
Maryam Akbari Monfared, born in 1975, is married and has three children. She was arrested on December 31, 2009, following the protests that year, and Judge Abolqasem Salavati in Branch 15 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced her to 15 years of imprisonment.
The court charged this political prisoner with “supporting the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran.”
Three brothers and one sister of Maryam Akbari Monfared, all supporters of Mojaheding, were executed in the 1980s.
