A Political Prisoner Sentenced to Two More Years in Prison for Publishing 'Joke with the Leader of the World's Ridiculous'

According to human rights sources, the Revolutionary Court of Karaj has sentenced Abdolrasoul Mortazavi, a political prisoner, to two more years in prison on charges of 'insulting the leadership.' Abdolrasoul Mortazavi, a veteran of the Iran-Iraq War and one of the signatories of the letter calling for Ali Khamenei's resignation, is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence in Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan. According to HRANA, the news agency of human rights activists in Iran, this new conviction relates to an audio file titled 'Joke with the Leader of the World's Ridiculous,' which was published by Mortazavi in May 2022. This audio file led to the formation of a new case against him for 'insulting the leadership,' with court sessions held online a few weeks ago in Dastgerd Prison. Mortazavi, who is among the 14 signatories of the resignation letter for Ali Khamenei in 2019, was arrested in the summer of that year and sentenced to 26 years in prison on charges such as 'propaganda against the regime,' 'disturbing public opinion,' and 'disrupting public security,' of which 11 years are enforceable. According to HRANA, this political prisoner was also sentenced to two additional years in prison in 2021 in another case for 'propaganda against the regime' and 'disturbing public order.' Arzhang Mortazavi, a student at Kharazmi University and the son of this political prisoner, has recently been sentenced to one year in prison, a two-year travel ban, and a prohibition on using social media for 'propaganda against the regime.' The Central Committee of the Ministry of Science also sentenced this computer science student in October of this year to four semesters of 'temporary suspension from studies and transfer from Kharazmi University to Damghan University' for 'creating chaos and disorder at the university.' Reporters Without Borders ranked Iran 177th out of 180 countries in terms of freedom of expression in its May report. In the 2023 ranking, only three countries—Vietnam, China, and North Korea—have a worse situation than Iran. Abdolrasoul Mortazavi's message, a political prisoner and war veteran: 'I have no conversation with Khamenei, but why are you silent, fellow countryman?' Regarding COVID-19 in Iran, Abdolrasoul Mortazavi's wife asks: 'Why are political prisoners not released? Don't they get COVID?' Abdolrasoul Mortazavi's son states: 'They have imprisoned my veteran father and deprived me of my education.' A statement from three political prisoners: 'Resorting to violence does not cure the incompetence of the Islamic Republic officials.'