65-Year-Old Protester Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for 'Insulting' Khomeini and Khamenei

According to human rights media, Mohammad Ali Vahdati, a 65-year-old protesting citizen, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. The Hengaw Human Rights Organization reported that this Kurdish citizen from Quchan in Razavi Khorasan Province was arrested on Saturday, March 1, to serve his 15-year sentence and was transferred to Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad. The report states that the reason for this conviction was 'protesting against the massacre' during the nationwide protests of 2022. According to Hengaw, the Revolutionary Court of Mashhad charged Mohammad Ali Vahdati with 'propaganda activities against the Islamic Republic', 'insulting Khamenei', 'membership in opposition groups', 'insulting Khomeini', and 'disrespecting sacred values'. Hengaw reported, citing informed sources, that this 65-year-old citizen is in a precarious physical condition due to illness and old age. Mohammad Ali Vahdati was arrested during the 2022 protests and was released on bail until the end of the judicial proceedings. There has been no information published regarding how this Kurdish citizen accessed a defense lawyer during the judicial process concerning his charges. Human rights media reports indicate a new wave of arrests and the enforcement of prison sentences for those detained during the 2022 protests. Recently, the Dadban Legal Consultation Center reported the issuance of a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence and two years of exile for Ramin Qashqai, a detained protester, to be executed in Qazvin. Ramin Qashqai was sentenced to a total of six years in prison and two years of exile to Nikshahr in Sistan and Baluchestan Province on charges of 'collusion and conspiracy against national security' and 'propaganda against the regime', with the most severe punishment of four and a half years in prison being enforceable after the appeal court's confirmation. According to this report, this protesting citizen has been given one month to introduce himself to prison. Confirmation of the expulsion of Sara Siyahpour; a teachers' union: Repressions will fuel hidden anger. A letter from dozens of Kurdish clerics to Mohseni Eje'i: Cancel the death sentence of Mullah Mohammad Khodrnejad. Mojahid Korkor, a death row inmate in Ahvaz, has been deprived of 'telephone contact and visitation'. Exclusive; criticism from two members of the Iranian Writers' Association regarding intensified censorship: Everyone should enjoy freedom of expression.