Based on a verdict that was communicated to 8 civil activist and authors of the open letter calling for ‘Khamenei Resignation’, Mashhad Revolutionary Court, sentenced Hashem Khastar, Mohammad Nourizad, Abdul Rasul Mortazavi, Mohammad Hossein Sepehri, Fatemeh Sepehri, Hashem Rajaee, Mohammad Hosseinpour, and Morteza Ghasemi to a total of 72 years in prison, 6 years in exile, and 6 years band on leaving the country.
Another defendant in the case, Javad Lal Mohammadi’s case is still open.
According to the Campaign to Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners, eight civil activists who demanded the resignation of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran on Tuesday June 11th, 2019, were sentenced to total of 72 years in prison, 6 years band on leaving the country, and 6 years of exile by a judge in Mashhad’s Revolutionary Court.
Based on the sentences, Hashem Khastar was sentenced to 16 years in prison, 3 years in exile in Nikshahr city and 3 years band on leaving the country, Mohammad Nourizad to 15 years in prison, 3 years in exile in Izeh, and 3 years band on leaving the country, Abdul Rasul Mortazavi to 26 years in prison, Mohammad Hossein Sepehri to 6 years in prison, Fatemeh Sepehri to 6 years in prison, and Hashem Rajai, Mohammad Hosseinpour and Morteza Ghasemi each sentenced to one years in prison.
It is noteworthy that the verdict was issued on charges of “creating illegal group and propaganda against the system”. The charges of “insulting the founder of the Islamic Republic and insulting the leadership” are still under investigation.
The trial on the charges against Mohammad Nouri Zad, Hashem Khastar, Fatemeh Sepehri and Mohammad Hossein Sepehri was held at the Mashhad Revolutionary Court Branch 4 on Saturday, Janurary 18th and Sunday, Janurary 19th, 2020.
These activists were arrested by security forces along with several other civil activists in front of the appeals court of Kamal Jafari Yazdi, who is detained in Mashhad prison, on August 11th, 2019.
Justice Lawyer Mohammad Hussein Aghasi, while confirming the verdict, posted the sentences of each of the eight civil activists on his Twitter page.
Mohammad Nourizad, Mohammad Maleki, Hashem Khastar, Gohar Eshqhi, Abas Vahedian Shahrodi, Horieh Farajzadeh, Kamal Jafari Yazdi, Mohammad Mahdavifar, Javad Lale Mmohammadi, Reza Mehrgan, Mohammad Reza Bayat, Mohammad Karimbeigi, Zartosht Ahmadi Ragheb, Mohamad Hossain Sepehri are the signatories of this statement.
According to these civil activists, in a situation where “neither there is a sign of Republic nor the freedom”, bargaining for civil activists “would not be possible without the resignation of Sayyid Ali Khamenei and the change of the constitution.”
It is noteworthy that most of the authors of this letter are still in detention and their trials have been held.