Final Verdict Issued Against Majid Tavakoli; 2 Years Imprisonment and Additional Penalties

Majid Tavakoli's wife announced that this political activist critical of the Islamic Republic has been sentenced by Branch 21 of the Tehran Court of Appeals to two years in prison, followed by two years of activity prohibition, a ban on residing in Tehran, and a prohibition on leaving the country. According to Maryam Tabandeh, Tavakoli's wife, the ruling from the appellate court is 'final and enforceable.' On Tuesday, December 25, she wrote on social media platform X: 'Majid's new conviction has been issued. Branch 21 of the appellate court has issued the final ruling: two years in prison and then additional penalties of two years of activity prohibition, a ban on residing in Tehran, and a prohibition on leaving the country. This ruling is final and enforceable.' Additionally, HRANA, the media organ of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, reported citing a source close to Tavakoli that following objections from the lawyers of this political activist, who has been arrested and imprisoned multiple times before, 'the six-year prison sentence issued in December 2023, which was confirmed by Branch 54 of the Tehran Court of Appeals after accepting a retrial, was sent back to the Supreme Court.' According to this report, the Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic 'overturned the issued ruling' and sent the case back for re-examination to an equivalent branch. According to a report from HRANA on Monday, Branch 21 of the Tehran Court of Appeals has now sentenced Majid Tavakoli to two years in prison for the charge of 'conspiracy and collusion' along with additional penalties. Majid Tavakoli, a political activist who has been arrested and imprisoned multiple times since his student days in the 2000s, was arrested again on September 23, 2022, during nationwide protests over the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police, and was temporarily released on bail on December 19 of the same year. Furthermore, Tavakoli was sentenced in July 2023 by Branch 28 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran to five years in prison for 'conspiracy and collusion' and one year in prison for 'propaganda against the regime,' a ruling that was upheld by the appellate court. This well-known political activist was transferred to Evin Prison on October 7, 2023, to serve his sentence and was temporarily released on bail in August of this year after the execution of the prison sentence was halted.