By Jubin Katiraie
An Iranian student activist and journalist has been sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in prison and 147 lashes for her role in peaceful protests on International Labour Day.
Marzieh Amiri’s sentence, of which six years is the minimum amount of time she will serve, was handed down in her trial in Tehran on August 13, which was presided over by the notorious judge, Mohammad Moghiseh.
The sentence was confirmed in comments that Amiri’s sister Samira posted to her personal social media accounts, according to the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
Amiri was suffering from epileptic seizures during her interrogation and detention due to intense physical and psychological pressures, but Moghiseh refused to allow her to post bail or even to take a temporary release for medical treatment.
Amiri was one of a number of labour activists arrested at a protest in Tehran on International Labor Day (May 1), including about 15 women.
Another female protester arrested that day, Nasrin Javadi (also known as Azam Khezri), has already been sentenced to seven years in prison and 74 lashes. Javadi is a former employee of the Medical Distribution Company and a current retiree of the Social Security Organization. She is also a member of the founding board of the Social Security Retirement Labor Council and a member of the Free Union of Iran Workers.
The NCRI Women’s Committee wrote that other female labour activists currently in prison include Neda Naji, Atefeh Rangriz, Marzieh Amiri, Anisha Assadollahi, Sanaz Allahyari, Sepideh Qolian, and Asal Mohammadi.
In a related case, the hearing for Parvin Mohammadi, Vice President of the Free Union of Iran Workers, was held in the Karaj on Saturday. Mohammadi was arrested along with 11 other activists on April 26 by security forces at a ceremony in Jahan Nama Park, on Tehran-Karaj Highway, in the lead up to International Labor Day. She is accused of propaganda against the government, a vague national security charge often levied against political prisoners in Iran.
She had previously been arrested on January 29 and held in Evin Prison until she was released on bail March.
While on August 22, women’s rights activist Shahla Entesari was arrested by Ministry of Intelligence agents in her private garden in Rasht. Her whereabouts are unknown and have been since her arrest by security forces. She was previously arrested and released on International Women’s Day (March 8) in 2017.
